


That Thing You Do

by thatmitchsentho



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, very minor Jeca
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 21:06:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 65,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8816254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatmitchsentho/pseuds/thatmitchsentho
Summary: What happens after Beca gets everything she thinks she wanted? Life isn't a movie, she soon learns, because you can't fake feeling something that isn't there, and you can't ignore something that is. M for future chapters. Bechloe endgame, starts as Jeca (not much so don't be deterred).





	1. Chapter 1

The night of the Bellas ICCA win was pretty much the highest point in Beca Mitchell's life so far. She could remember being happy – like when she bought her first deck, mixed her first track, when she first heard her song played on Barden radio. But this was proper happiness, maybe even joy. She'd managed to win the title with her friends, and she and Jesse had finally gotten together.

It marked the beginning of a change in Beca that was bigger than either of those events signified. She was trying to be less closed off – that's what had almost cost her everything with Jesse. And she was allowing herself to be a part of something – the Bellas, which had meant that for the first time she had real _friends_ , not just people she'd say hey to at a party. It was taking some getting used to, but Beca was beginning to feel like what she figured a normal college girl would feel like.

So, happy most of the time. She was spending a lot more of her time socializing with the Bellas, compared to stuck in her laptop. She still worked on her music a lot, but now she realized just how lucky she was to have those girls. She saw Jesse almost every day. They still worked at the radio station, and they navigating the early stages of their relationship. If she was being honest though, Jesse was already way more into it than she was. She liked Jesse, a lot, and he was sweet and he was nothing but good to her. But he was already talking kids and moving to LA together, and Beca had only just managed to admit that she was capable of feeling emotions at all, let alone emotions of that magnitude. Most of her emotion went into her mixes, where she could let whatever was in her head come alive on the monitor.

She was just saving the progress on one of her mixes when her phone buzzed. She pulled her headphones off and read the text. Jesse was waiting downstairs with a surprise. Bring a jacket, it said. They'd scheduled a date in for the night. She shut down her computer and grabbed a Bellas hoodie, and met him downstairs. He kissed her on the lips quickly and gestured that they should walk.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"God, Beca, do you not understand the term 'surprise'?" Jesse said, laughing.

"I do, but I don't much like surprises," she replied. "Too many surprises for me felt like a kick in the face."

"What kind of girl doesn't like surprises? Well, if I promise not to kick you in the face can we keep it a surprise?"

"Fine," Beca said. "But don't be surprised if I cry, run away, or turn violent."

"Oh, so the violence is okay if it comes from you?" he teased. She gave him a light shove and Jesse took her hand. They walked across campus to the arts quad. There was a giant screen up at one end, and Beca could smell the popcorn.

"What's this, a movie night?" she asked.

"Yep," he said excitedly. Beca tried to share his enthusiasm, and hoped her lack of excitement wasn't showing. This was what she didn't get about Jesse. He knew she wasn't really a fan of movies, and here they were. Sure she liked them okay now, but it seemed like half their dates were movies. Any time he planned something, they went to a movie. Or hung out and watched movies. Beca wanted to eat out, see bands, go to an art show, go to parties with their friends, even just hang out and lay on the grass.

"What movie are they showing?" Beca asked.

"Avatar." Beca flinched. "What?"

"Avatar, like that movie that's three hours long and Aubrey swears is just a rehash of Pocahontas and Fern Gully?" Beca said.

"What? She said that? No, there's more to it than that," Jesse said. "I swear, you'll see." He maneuvered them to some seats, and then left to get them popcorn and drinks. Beca put her hoodie on, it was already cool and in three hours she had a feeling it was going to be freezing. Her phone buzzed. Chloe.

_Hey DJ. Plans for tonight? Girls wanna hit up live music night at TBC. xo_

Beca wrinkled her nose. TBC was The Broken Chandelier, pretty much the only decent live music bar within driving distance. They had good bands most nights, and they were pretty lax on carding. A night out with the Bellas sounded infinitely better than a three hour movie. But Jesse was her boyfriend and she had committed to spending the evening with him.

_No can do. I'm about to watch Avatar at open air cinema in the quad. Have fun for me._

Jesse returned and saw her texting. "Who's that?"

"Just Chloe. Nothing important." He handed her a coke that was so big she thought she might be able to drown in it as her phone buzzed again.

_Ouch. Don't forget tomorrow, we're all meeting at Amy's friends place at lunchtime for serious sun. xo_

She smiled at the text, because it sounded so like Chloe, she could practically see the redheads face as she texted. She put the phone back in her pocket.

"Isn't this movie supposed to be in 3D?" Chloe asked.

"It was released in 2D and 3D," Jesse explained. "Oh, it's starting." Beca watched as Jesse turned his attention to the screen. Beca started by watching the people around them. Couples, mostly. Some groups of guys together. She thought about what they would think of the movie.

"You're missing the setup," Jesse whispered. "It's almost as important as the ending." Beca raised her eyebrows apologetically. He offered her some popcorn. She took a handful and settled down into her seat. It was going to be a long night.

It felt like it dragged on forever. She was bored out of her brain. Something was happening onscreen, some dude was jumping on to a weird bird thing, she had no idea, but her phone buzzed in her pocket. Chloe. It was a picture text of Fat Amy onstage with some college band behind her, and clearly she was entertaining the crowd.

_Miss you. Tell you the story behind this tomorrow. xo_

She grinned. Amy was without a doubt the funniest, boldest girl she'd ever met. She _would_ be the one to jump up on stage with a band and take over. She couldn't wait to hear the story.

_Miss you guys too._

She turned her attention back to the screen and wondered how obvious it would be if she nodded off. Not that she could, it was cold. She pulled her hoodie up over her head. She could see other couples were smart enough to have brought blankets. She stole a look at Jesse, who was enraptured. She wiggled in her chair and Jesse offered her a shoulder to lean on. She accepted, and didn't even pretend to be interested in the rest of the movie, instead giving in to the sleep that had been trying to lure her for the better part of an hour.

Jesse shook her awake when it was done. He had a look on his face that Beca recognized. He was hurt, for some reason, probably because she'd spent an hour asleep instead of being engrossed in what he obviously considered a stellar way to spend a Friday night.

"Sorry," she said. "Like I said, long movie. I liked what I saw, though."

"Don't do that," Jesse said. "You barely paid attention to it. You squirm like a toddler when you're bored."

"Yeah, well I like spending time with you, even if we do spend all our time watching movies."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jesse said.

"Nothing," Beca said. She had no idea how this was turning into a fight.

"No, there was a tone there," Jesse said. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "We don't spend all our time watching movies."

"We do if you plan it," Beca said.

"What about when we went for Thai?"

"That was my idea," Beca said.

"And last weekend we went on a road trip."

"That was me as well," Beca said. "And as I recall, you were pissed because we got back too late to get tickets to Classic Horror night at the cinema. Jesse, you forget I don't even really _like_ movies. But I came and sat through a three hour movie with you anyway. I'm happy to watch a movie now and then with you because you love them, but there are other things we can do."

"I get it," he said flatly. They walked back to Beca's dorm in awkward silence.

"Want me to call you in the morning?" she asked when they got there.

"Golf with the Trebles," he mumbled. "Kolio's idea. We're teeing off at eight. Lunch date?"

"Bellas date at noon," Beca said. "And I've got overnight at the station after that." Jesse kicked at the ground awkwardly. Truthfully, Beca didn't know exactly how Jesse felt about her being offered a regular slot on the roster when he was still stacking CDs of an afternoon.

"So maybe I'll see you Sunday," Jesse said. He didn't kiss her goodbye, just slunk off, despite Beca calling after him. She shook her head and wondered if all relationships were this hard. She got back into the her room and found Kimmy Jin still awake reading. Her relationship with her roommate was getting better, they actually had friendly conversations.

"Hey Beca," she said.

"Hey," Beca replied.

"What have you been up to?"

"Cinema in the quad with Jesse. Avatar," she said dryly.

"You weren't a fan?"

"I fell asleep," Beca admitted. "I think Jesse was mad. What did you get up to?"

"Dinner, some homework. Wanted to get it out of the way so I can have the whole weekend free." Beca's phone buzzed in her pocket again.

_AUBREY IS DANCING ON A TABLE. Video being taken. xo_

Beca shook her head. It sounded like a fun night, way better than a three hour movie night that ended in her arguing with her brand new boyfriend. She sighed.

_Make good choices. :)_

She put the phone on her desk and left to take a shower. It was empty in the showers, which was the way she liked it. She often hummed or sang in there, and while she didn't mind doing it while other people were showering, she preferred it empty. Her mind drifted back to the time Chloe had interrupted her shower. It often crept into her mind when she came into the shower room. That had been probably the single most awkward affair of her entire life. But somehow she and Chloe had come out of it good friends. Best friends even. It was a shame the senior would be graduating shortly, Beca didn't know how she would go about leading the Bellas without her, and even Aubrey.

She showered quickly, humming a little Fun as she did. She'd been wondering about their harmonies for a while, and whether or not they could fit into a Bellas song. She hurried back to her room, hoping to find a text from Jesse. She was disappointed though, the screen of her phone showed nothing but the battery icon. Kimmy Jin was asleep now, so she quietly got into bed and tried to erase the memory of a crappy night.


	2. Chapter 2

The next afternoon, Beca lay by the pool with the rest of the Bellas. Amy had a friend or maybe boyfriend who had no problems letting them crash his parents house while they were out of town. They'd eaten a fat filled Mexican lunch, during which the girls relived the highlights of the last night for her, including Aubrey's table dancing video, which she vehemently argued she didn't remember. Then they'd spread out in and around the pool for a lazy afternoon.

Chloe and Beca were at the far end of the pool, away from the others. Chloe had oversized shades on, and Beca was reapplying sunscreen for the millionth time, since she was well aware that she burned without warning.

"So how was cinema in the quad?" Chloe said.

"Eh," Beca said noncommittally.

"Uh-oh," Chloe said. "Wasn't exactly a night that swept you off your feet?"

"You could say that. We ended up fighting, I think."

"You think?"

"Well, I guess we did. I kind of pointed out that all he ever wants to do is go to movies, even though he knows I don't really like movies that much. He got pissy because I fell asleep in a three-hour nerd fest. I don't know."

"That's rough," Chloe said. "But you're right. If it's any kind of relationship, it should be about what you both want to do. You guys have enough in common that you should be able to find things to do that you both like."

"That's what I thought," Beca said. "I don't know, Chloe, I didn't figure that a relationship with him would be this hard when we were so good as friends. It feels unnecessarily complicated."

"Don't discount that, Beca," Chloe said. "Sometimes people are better off as friends."

"Can we talk about something else?" Beca asked. She was a little mad at Jesse, because she still hadn't heard from him even after she'd sent him a few texts during the morning.

"Sure can, DJ. Like, how about the fact that you've been ignoring your upcoming birthday," Chloe said casually.

"What?!"

"Your dad told me," Chloe explained. "It's your birthday in two weeks and you didn't even tell us."

"I don't make a big deal out of my birthday," Beca said quietly. "It's never been a big deal."

"But now you have a group of friends who love you and want to make a big deal about you, whether you like it or not," Chloe said. "And if you think the Bellas are just going to sit back and let your birthday pass with an inappropriate amount of fuss and spectacle, you're wrong."

"That sounds like you're planning something big," Beca said.

"Aubrey and I are working on something. Not Vegas-level theatre, but something fun," Chloe confirmed. Aubrey was drifting toward them in the pool. "Isn't that right, Aubrey?"

"What?" Aubrey said. Chloe sat up on her sun-lounge.

"We've got plans in motion for Beca's birthday," Chloe said.

"Oh yeah," Aubrey said. "The girls and Chloe have been hard at work."

"I don't know what the appropriate level of alarm is," Beca said.

"Don't worry," Amy chimed in. "Nothing that'll end in jail time, or you being duct-taped to streetlight. Just a party with some cool people."

"Well, okay," Beca said.

"It'll be fine," Chloe reassured her. "I know you don't like surprises. Spontaneity, yes, surprises, no." Of course Chloe would know that, and know the difference.

"Hey," Denise called out. "Whoever's phone is playing She Wolf, you're ringing." Beca got up, because it was hers. She saw that it was Jesse.

"Hey," she said. She was glad he finally called.

"I'm a dick," he said. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," Beca said. "You were just trying to plan a good night out."

"Yeah, but dragging my barely-interested-in-film girlfriend to a three hour movie probably wasn't the best idea ever," Jesse admitted. "How are the Bellas?"

"We're slow-roasting," Beca said. "And Aubrey & Chloe are talking about planning some birthday shindig for me."

"Oh yeah," Jesse said. "I know."

"You knew and you didn't say anything?" Beca said.

"It was supposed to be a surprise," Jesse said. "But you hate surprises."

"I know," Beca said. "It's okay, Chloe assured me there won't be anything that'll freak me the hell out."

"No, they're planning a good night," Jesse said. "I helped with the guest list."

"Oh god," Beca said. "You didn't invite my dad, did you?"

"No," Jesse laughed. "I vetoed your dad. I'm not stupid. Have fun tonight. Play me something good."

"Sure," Beca said. "I'll talk to you later." She put the phone down. Chloe was walking toward her, a bottle of water in each hand. She offered one to Beca.

"Jesse?"

"Yeah. We made up," Beca said.

"Some of the girls want to go out for dinner later tonight," Chloe said.

"I've got a shift at the station," Beca said. "But you guys go without me."

"I think I'll raincheck this one. Sometimes, I like not to be in a crowd of people, you know?"

"I know," Beca said. "Why do you think I got a job that entails me sitting in a room all on my own?" They laughed.

"Seriously," Chloe said. "What do you even do in there for hours at a time?"

"Cue up music, decide what I'm playing, play some serious Angry Birds on my phone," Beca joked. "Nah, if I've got a whole lot of music cued up, it's great thinking time. Sometimes I plan mixes, sometimes I just sit there."

"Does Jesse ever come and hang out with you?" Chloe asked.

"No," Beca said. "I've asked him to, but I think it makes him uncomfortable. I mean, one thing we were stacking CDs together, next thing I've got a regular DJ shift and he's still stacking CDs. He says he's happy for me, but I know he isn't as happy as he makes out. So I try not to talk about it." Chloe was watching her pensively.

"What?" Beca said. "You've got that face, like you want to say something."

"I don't know if it's my place."

"Chloe, the one thing I know for sure about you and me, is that after you walked in on me in the showers, we've had no boundaries," Beca said. "So lay it on me."

"We're pretty close, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Of course."

"Ok, so don't take what I'm going to say the wrong way," Chloe said. "I get that you and Jesse are in a relationship, and that takes work. But from everything you've been telling me, he talks a big game about forever and kids and whatever, but he doesn't seem interested in the little things that make up your day to day."

"Maybe. What's your point?"

"Forever is made up of day to day," Chloe said. "If you let the little things go, they become big things. And the big things become massive things, and pretty soon after, forever is long gone. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Kind of," Beca said.

"I know you don't really like talking about the whole you and Jesse thing," Chloe said. "All I'm going to say is that you deserve someone who focuses on all the little things that make you happy day to day. Don't settle." She looked at her for a moment, blue eyes wide, and then left her to her own thoughts.

When the girls had all gone their separate ways, Beca headed back to her dorm to sneak in a couple of hours sleep before her shift. Kimmy Jin was in the room, and even though Beca insisted she would sleep with headphones on, she left with her friend so that they wouldn't interrupt. She woke feeling rested, and took a quick shower before she put her stuff together and headed to the station.

She nodded at Luke, who was in the booth when she got there, and he beckoned her inside. They exchanged brief catch up conversation, and Luke cued up his last few songs, and left for the night. Beca pulled out some of her favorite mixes, some of her own and some not, and lined them up, ready to start her long, lonely night in the booth.

Three hours into her shift, at one am, she saw her phone light up. Luke had instructed her to always have it on silent, and turn the vibrate function off, because the radio station mics could pick up the sound of a phone vibrating on a desk. It was Chloe.

_I'm at the door. Let me in. xo_

Chloe. She checked that her feed was okay for a few minutes and went to let Chloe in. The redhead didn't appear to be bothered by the fact that it was one am. She had a cup in each hand, and offered one to Beca.

"Thanks for the coffee," she said. "What brings you out here?"

"Couldn't really sleep," Chloe shrugged. "I crashed out a little after this afternoon, and I didn't want to keep Aubrey up all night."

"Want to come see inside the booth?" Beca said.

"Is this, like, your inner sanctum?" Chloe joked. "Should I take off my shoes?"

"Come on, while I can talk to you," Beca said. "We've got about eleven minutes worth of music lined up." She pulled Chloe in to the booth and gave her the quick tour, explaining how she could add music to the queue, interrupt for voice over, play ads. Chloe seemed interested in how it all worked, and waited silently as Beca ran a voice over for her next bracket of music.

"Are you ready for finals?" Chloe asked.

"I'm ready for finals to be over," Beca said. "Nah, I'll be fine. I mean, I'm not making the honor roll or anything, but I'm pretty confident I'll pass everything."

"And then, it's our birthday. So it's like, a great way to celebrate your birth _and_ the end of finals," Chloe said, eyes lighting up. "It's going to be amazing."

"I'm sure it is," Beca said.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

The party, Beca had to admit, was amazing. Chloe, Aubrey and Stacie had decked out the yard of Amy's friend's house gorgeously and organized it all, Amy had helped Jesse with the guest list, Donald had set up some good music and everyone seemed to be having a good time. All the acapella guys and girls, even Kimmy Jin and some of her friends, a couple of people she worked with at the radio station.

She tried to say hi to everyone there, and eventually she thought she covered them all. Jesse was waiting by the back doors with a drink and some kind of pizza slider that was the best thing she'd ever put in her mouth. He planted a kiss on her cheek as she downed it. Beca noted that he then picked up his own drink, saw the vaguely vacant look in his eyes. He was already drunk.

"Already drunk, Jesse?" she said. "Or am I just blurry?"

"Maybe a little," he said. "But I got bored waiting for you."

"I'm sorry," she said automatically, even though she didn't really feel like it was something to be sorry for. "I was thanking everyone for coming."

"It is a hell of a party," he said. "Better than anything I could have planned." It almost sounded bitter.

"I'm glad you're here," Beca said, kissing him. "Even if you are drunk." She snagged some more food from a table under the vast white tent in the yard and returned to Jesse and also Benji, who had joined him. She liked Benji, he was like an eternal little brother, even though they were pretty much the same age.

"Hey! There's my DJ," a voice rang out. It was Chloe, Beca didn't even have to turn. She was the only person who called Beca DJ. Amy called her Shorty, or Shawshank, and Cynthia Rose called her Chief, but only Chloe called her DJ. The redhead appeared by her side, and she hugged Beca vigorously. Beca took a moment to look at Chloe, trying to decide if she was drunk or just Chloe. She wasn't drunk, it was just her effervescent nature.

"Hey, Chlo. Thank you for this amazing party," Beca said. "I know I was kind of reluctant, but I love it."

"And we love you," Chloe said. "It was nothing. Now, if the boys can excuse us, we should all go and get our dance on."

"Of course. Don't mind us," Jesse said, a little coldly. Beca stopped herself from rolling her eyes, and was pulled into the mix of dancing people by Chloe. Aubrey and Stacie joined them, and Beca tried to make eye contact with Jesse and get him to come join in. He waved her off, twice, and after that she gave up, frowning. Chloe leaned over so Beca could hear what she was saying over the music.

"Don't let him get you down. This night is about you, don't forget it," she said. Aubrey saw her momentary displeasure and squeezed her arm, smiling hard. She danced for a little while, and then begged off so she could go and find Jesse. He was sitting on some chairs with an almost passed out Unicycle and had clearly had a few more drinks.

"Hey, there she is," he said, slurring happily. "Beca. Nice of you to remember I was here."

"I wanted you to come dance," Beca said. "You knew where I was."

"I'm a white teenage boy, Beca. I don't dance."

"Tell that to Benji," Beca smiled. Jessica had convinced Benji to come and dance, and he'd loosened up eventually. "But I see you managed to keep yourself occupied."

"I did," Jesse said. He was going to keep speaking, but Amy interrupted by yelling out across the yard.

"Cake time, bitches! Where's Shorty at?" She spotted Beca and waved frantically. Beca helped Jesse stumble across to where they'd gathered.

"Cake sounds good," Jesse said. The cake was shaped to look like a mixing deck, and it looked delicious. Beca got pushed to the front of the group, where she was serenaded by a long, drawn-out and rousing version of Happy Birthday sung in harmony and complete with beatboxing. She smiled so hard she thought her cheeks would explode. As she leaned over to blow out the candles, she caught a glimpse of Jesse stumbling toward a flower bed and throwing up.

She blew her candles out and plastered a decent smile on her face, thanking everyone for coming again. Amy took charge of cutting the cake up and doling it out, and Beca slipped away to check on Jesse. He was still on his knees in the garden when she reached him.

"Did I miss cake?" he asked.

"Yeah," Beca said evenly. "Because you got wasted and while everyone was singing to me, you were hurling all kinds of Technicolor on the flowers."

"You're mad."

"Excellent observation. Yes, I am. You were drunk not even an hour after we got here, you got angry when I socialized at my own birthday party, ignored me when I wanted to dance with you, and missed singing happy birthday to me because you were puking," Beca listed. "You're really setting the standard for crappy boyfriends here."

"Yeah, well… You ignored me all night," he said.

"I was thanking all of these other people for coming to the party," Beca said. "People who came to celebrate with me instead of glare at me from the wall all night. And it wasn't supposed to be about you, tonight, it was supposed to be about me." She left him in the garden and went back to the table where Chloe pressed a piece of cake in her hand, a questioning eyebrow raised. She shook her head and instead grabbed Benji and asked him to take Jesse back to their dorm.

"He alright?" Benji asked. "He was pounding them back earlier."

"Now he's doing the opposite," Beca said. Benji gave her a quick hug.

"Happy birthday Beca. I'll take him home. Thanks for inviting me."

"Any time, Benji," Beca said. She watched Benji go over and pull Jesse to his feet and explain that they were going home. Jesse was argumentative at first, and tried to look to Beca, but she just shook her head at him. She didn't want to get into it now. She wanted to enjoy the rest of her party.

It was easy to enjoy the night after that. They danced some more, sang a little, and hung out until enough people had bailed to call it a night. Beca caught up with Aubrey and Chloe, and offered to drive them back, since she hadn't been drinking.

"You sure?" Chloe said. "We were gonna walk, it's not that far."

"We live in the same dorm building," Beca said. "Of course it's alright. Plus, Benji was my ride."

"Beca," Aubrey said, "You're a sweetheart. Know that?" She was a little tipsy.

"Yeah," Beca said. "Come on Posen, let's get you home." She drove Chloe's car back to campus, singing along with the radio with her friends. They walked to their building and made a promise with Chloe to come get her in the morning for breakfast at 9:30.

"You even going to be sober and coherent by then, Chlo?" she asked.

"You're underestimating my power," Chloe said. "Aubrey and I will probably be awake before you."

"Whatever you say. I'll see you in the morning." She left them on her floor and quietly let herself into her room. There was a package on her desk in simple wrapping paper. It had a card attached from Kimmy Jin.

_I know we're not close friends, but this made me think of you. Happy Birthday._

She opened it curiously, and saw a vintage style DJ print. It was pretty cool. She was glad that she and Kimmy Jin were getting to be friends now. The Korean wasn't coming back to the room that night, so Beca changed for bed, and pulled over her headphones so that she could listen to some music as she went to sleep.

The next morning, she knocked on Chloe and Aubrey's door at 9:30 am. Chloe was inside and looked as if she'd barely been drinking the night before.

"Where's Posen?" Beca said.

"She went for a run," Chloe said. "Give it time, you'll learn to handle your hangovers like a pro, just like we do."

"I don't even drink that much," Beca said. "Anyway, we still going out for breakfast?"

"Sure," Chloe replied. "Just let me change out of this shirt, I was cleaning in it."

"By the way," Chloe said, opening her wardrobe, "Happy birthday." She pulled out a package wrapped in blinding yellow paper.

"Chloe, that party was more than enough for me," Beca said. "You didn't have to get me anything."

"Oh please," Chloe said. "What's the point of coming from a rich as hell family if I can't spoil my friends. Just open it. Something I think you needed." Beca turned her attention to the package. She unwrapped it a little gingerly, not used to the feeling of getting presents from anyone other than her parents. When she realized what it was, her jaw dropped.

"Chloe!" she said. "I can't take these." It was a pair of top of the line V-Moda Crossfade headphones. They were white and gorgeous and, Beca realized, Chloe had even had custom earshields added on – Barden blue with the Bellas symbol engraved on them.

"Take them, and use them," Chloe said. "I noticed you've got some duct tape holding the cord in place on your current ones, and what am I gonna do, return them? I'm sure there's a huge market for custom Barden Bellas headphones." She turned from Beca and changed her shirt in a swift motion.

Beca could barely speak. They were absolutely stunning, and way too much. She knew her headphones were a little beat up, but these were $300 headphones. Chloe turned back and repeated herself, telling Beca she wouldn't have them back, so Beca accepted them, and hugged Chloe hard.

"Thank you," she said. "These are the best thing anyone has ever bought me."

"Don't let your boyfriend hear you say that," Chloe teased. Beca took a moment when she realized how true that statement might be. Jesse would be mad when he found out they were from Chloe, he was already mad enough that Chloe and Aubrey had thrown her a party. But then she dismissed the thought, because in all honesty, Chloe knew the perfect thing to get her, and Jesse had ended up with a gift voucher to Amazon and some flowers. It's like he barely knew her, and that wasn't her fault, or Chloe's fault.

"Beca?" Chloe's voice said. It didn't sound like it was the first time she'd said her name.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"What did Jesse get you?"

"Um, flowers and an Amazon voucher," she said. Chloe didn't comment, just raised an eyebrow diplomatically.

"You don't sound thrilled."

"I've been wondering if we're even going to work out," Beca admitted. "I adore him, but I don't think we work on that level. He's a great friend. But it's like, I try and try to be interested in what he likes, but he doesn't try at all with me. It's like if we hang out now and then, we're cool, but now we're running out of things to do together. I've been thinking maybe we should cool it off a bit. Or a lot."

"Whatever you think will make you happy," Chloe said. "I've got your back."

"Thanks," Beca said. "What am I gonna do without you here next year?"

"I'll be around," Chloe said, dropping onto her bed. "I'm not leaving Atlanta. I'm taking a job with Mueller and Dane."

"The chem lab?"

"Yeah," Chloe said. "Bench research, but it's a good job. Plus I love Atlanta. Though, I need to find a place to live, so if you wanna come apartment hunting with me and Aubrey, that would be super cool."

"Will you come and see the Bellas performances?" Beca asked. She'd grown accustomed to Chloe's bright blue eyes watching her, and seeing them in the back of an auditorium would be better than not seeing them at all.

"Of course," Chloe said. "The Bellas are always going to be a part of me. Plus, I want to be there if you need a hand. Or a sounding board."

"That's really cool of you, Chloe," Beca said. Her phone buzzed.

_Any chance we can have lunch? I think we need to talk._

"That face isn't a happy face," Chloe observed.

"Jesse wants to talk," Beca said. "Can I be honest?"

"You can tell me anything," Chloe said. "We're joined in Belladom, so there's like, a sacred oath of trust or something. Plus, we're friends."

"I'm pretty sure I want to just be friends with Jesse," Beca said. "But I've never actually broken up with anyone before. I don't want to crush him. He's kind of intense, and I know he takes things really personally…"

"Ok. This is easy. You still care about him, right?"

"Of course, he's a good guy. I'd love to stay friends with him, I think we kind of need each other a little."

"So you tell him all the things that you love about your friendship, and then say that you don't feel like those things are translating well into the relationship. Tell him that you still want him to be a part of your life, but that you want that amazing friendship back, because it's really important to you," Chloe rattled off. Beca just stared at her. "I've been on the receiving end of that speech before. Only ex-boyfriend I don't want to kill said that to me."

"Wow," Beca said. She texted Jesse back that she'd meet him at his dorm at 12:30. "You're like my very own Dr Phil."

"Please girl," Chloe sassed. "Oprah or bust. Let's go."

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

She knocked on Jesse's door a few minutes after 12:30. He opened it, and she said hey to Benji before they left. They walked for a while, both feeling the somewhat awkward tension. Beca was so nervous she felt like she was going to be sick.

"About last night," Jesse said. "I'm really sorry."

"You should be," Beca replied.

"It was a total dick move to be pissed at you for enjoying your own party," he continued, "And a bigger dick move to get so wasted I puked in Amy's boyfriend's garden instead of singing happy birthday to you."

"I agree," Beca said. She didn't elaborate.

"So I'm really, really sorry," Jesse said. "And I know it's going to take time for you to get to a place where you can forgive me for that. But I deserve to have to wait, because I was an asshole." Beca was inclined to forgive him, but she knew that she still had to be frank with him.

"It's okay, Jesse. I forgive you," Beca said. "But I think we need to have a different talk." They slowed and she gestured to a concrete wall.

"If this were a movie," Jesse said, "You'd be breaking up with me right about now."

"We're not in a movie," Beca said. Jesse struggled to meet her eyes.

"But you are breaking up with me," he said, sitting down. Beca sat down next to him and sighed.

"I just… it's like, when we were friends, we were so good together. And I don't feel like we've got that same connection now. I wish we did, I really do. But this awkward, tense relationship we have, it's nothing compared to the friendship we had before. That friendship is so important to me, and I don't want to lose it by pushing a relationship that I don't think is going to work," Beca said, running her words together quickly. Jesse kicked his heels against the concrete and was silent for a moment.

"This sucks," he said.

"I know," Beca said. "I think we should have worked, in theory. I know it sucks, trust me, but Jesse, I really do want to stay friends."

"Maybe," Jesse said. "Maybe in a couple of weeks? Coz, you know… we were only dating for a few weeks but I've been in love with you for almost a year. So, yeah, I do want us to be friends again, but you're going to need to give me some time."

"I can do that," Beca said. "Like I said, you're important to me, so whatever it takes." He stood up and kissed her on the forehead.

"Then… I guess I'll see you around," he said. He shuffled slowly away. Beca felt some tears burning at her eyes. She silently berated herself for being stupid, it's not like Jesse had broken up with her. She hated hurting Jesse like that, hated that felt like a tease and a jerk. She tilted her head back and willed them to go away, but they stayed, stubborn as everything else about her. She sniffled and pulled her phone out of her pocket, dialing the only person she thought could bear talking to right now.

"Hey DJ, what's up?" Chloe's voice came. Beca managed a sniffle and possible hiccup into the phone. "Beca? You okay?"

"I thought I would be," she finally said. "But no."

"Where are you?" Chloe demanded. "Aubrey and I will come get you for post-breakup therapy. I'll even make her go and get the ice-cream."

"I'm opposite the civics building near Jesse's dorm," Beca said. "Make it quick, right now I'm that loser girl crying in public and I can't say I'm a fan."

"I'll be there in a few," Chloe said, and hung up. She arrived a few short minutes later, a look of concern evident on her bright blue eyes.

"Hey," Beca said, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Oh, DJ. Someone who wears as much eye makeup as you should really invest in waterproof," she said, pulling a tissue out of her bag and handing it to Beca. The brunette smiled despite her sadness. Chloe placed a protective arm around her shoulder and they walked back toward her dorm room.

"Aubrey has gone to get ice-cream," Chloe said. "We're going to have a little binge and whinge."

"I don't even know if it's whinge-worthy," Beca said. "I just know that I broke up with him, which is what I wanted, but it still sucks."

"Of course it does," Chloe said. "So, we eat ice-cream, we stay up late, we wear only pyjamas, and we do not watch Bridget Jones' Diary."

"Okay," Beca said. "Ice cream always sounds good." Chloe took the tissue from her and wiped away the rest of the black smudges staining her face.

"Seriously, Beca. Waterproof mascara isn't a new invention," she mumbled. They made their way back toward their dorm building, and stopped past Beca's room to grab a few things. They got back to Chloe's room, and Chloe turned some music on to kill the silence.

"Do you want to talk?" Chloe said.

"Not just yet," Beca said. "Maybe later."

"Whenever you're ready," Chloe said. Beca just sunk onto Chloe's bed and stared at the ceiling, until Aubrey returned from the emergency ice cream mission.

"Ok, I didn't know what you like, Beca, so I got cookie dough, some mint choc chip, and this red velvet cupcake one was kind of just staring at me, so I got it, too." She set them on the dresser.

"Jesus," Beca said. "How much ice-cream are we planning on eating?"

"All of it," Chloe and Aubrey said in unison. Beca smirked and raised her eyebrows.

"You've never done the break-up wallow before, have you?" Aubrey said.

"Uh, no," Beca said. "You guys and Jesse are like, the first people I ever really opened up to. Before Jesse, most other people I've been with was just one night deals or whatever."

"Oh Christ," Aubrey said. "Jesse was your first boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"Beca, are you a virgin?" Aubrey asked. Beca turned bright red and groaned, pulling Chloe's pillow on top of her face.

"Aubrey!" Chloe said. "That's not our business."

"Fine," Aubrey said in a singsong voice. "But her non-answer is almost an answer in itself." Beca sat up suddenly, causing the pillow to fall to the ground.

"No, but the one experience I had was less than satisfactory, so I like to pretend it never happened, if you must know," Beca said. "I thought we were supposed to be making me feel better, not worse." Aubrey laughed and pulled some plastic spoons from one of their drawers.

"You're right," she said. "And we start with ice-cream."

"I feel like we should be eating dinner first," Beca said.

"Nope," Chloe said. "Pizza comes much, much later. Or Mexican. Something nasty and fatty, in the middle of the night."

"You guys have this down to a science, don't you?"

"Oh yeah," Aubrey said. "Think about it, what guy do you think hangs around once he gets a full look at all the crazy I got?"

"And people tend to bail on me once they realize I'm not just after a good time," Chloe said. "So yeah, we do this well. We're all just a little bit screwed up, in our own ways." That was a comforting thought to Beca. She only just managed to snag a guy who didn't run screaming at all of her inarticulate, repressed crap, and she found that even though he was probably perfect, she couldn't love him back.

"Hand me that mint choc chip," she said.

Beca had never done the girly sleepover thing as a teenager. She wasn't interested in socializing with the airhead girls that went to her school, and they definitely weren't interested in socializing with her. But as the night wore on, she found herself enjoying Chloe and Aubrey's company. They were experts at passing time without pushing her to talk and they distracted her from disappearing into her own head.

They'd called a pizza place at two thirty, knowing that there was one open just off the far side of campus, and Aubrey had gone downstairs to pay the delivery guy who had called to say he was there. They'd negotiated an extra tip to compensate the lateness of the call. Chloe tossed a pillow at Beca, who was intently scrutinizing Aubrey's CD collection.

"What?" she said.

"What are you even doing?" Chloe said.

"Aubrey has some embarrassing CDs in this collection," Beca said, laughing.

"I know, it's like every guilty pleasure, one hit wonder and straight up failure gathered in one place," Chloe said. Beca stopped checking album titles and turned toward Chloe. She could see the redhead's eyes asking the question again.

"I'm okay," Beca said. "It was hard. And I can't make him be okay with this on the spot. I'll miss him, but hopefully we'll end up as friends again. But you and Aubrey definitely helped. So thanks. For that." Chloe hugged her.

"Any time for you," she said. "You know I adore you. And Aubrey does too, in her own way. We've got your back DJ, even if I'm across town at work, and Aubrey is off in Dade County."

"Like, Florida?"

"Yep. She found out yesterday that she got an offer to clerk at a public defense firm. She's mainly concerned about what the heat is going to do to her hair," Chloe said. "But I'll still be here, for a while."

"Man I can't believe Posen's leaving Atlanta," Beca said.

"Aca-believe it," Aubrey said, standing in the doorway with a pizza. "It's happening."

"Congrats on the job offer," Beca said, shifting some of their mess out of the way so Aubrey could set the pizza down.

"Thanks," the blonde responded. "And I was planning on saying something soon, I promise. Just, you know, a big deal."

They ate the pizza and continued wasting time until their eyes were too heavy to stay open. Chloe and Aubrey climbed into Aubrey's bed – apparently not the first time the two of them had shared, and Beca climbed into Chloe's, over a mountain of overstuffed pillows. She was asleep seconds after her head hit the pillow, her mind a little more at ease.


	5. Chapter 5

Beca found that the next few weeks went by fairly quickly. She would get up, go to class – which was weird since they were pretty much just waiting on their exam results – and then either go down to the station or hang out with Aubrey and Chloe, or the Bellas. It was a routine that she didn't mind, except that she still hadn't spoken to Jesse since they broke up. She'd seen Benji around the place a few times, and they'd talked without mentioning the elephant in the room. She didn't want to put him in an awkward spot, of course, so they'd been friendly and gone their separate ways.

Aubrey was spending half her waking life on the phone. She was due to fly out to Florida two days after graduation, and she had no time to go down there and find a place to live. She was unbearably tense almost, and Beca only managed to hold her tongue by reminding herself that it would all be over soon, and she'd miss Aubrey after she was gone. Even if the two of them would loathe to admit it.

Her dad had invited her to stay with him and Sheila over the summer, and Beca had accepted. Partly because she didn't want to have to lug her crap all the way back to her mother's house, or into a new dorm only to have to move again when school went back, but also because she was getting on okay with her dad. Sheila, she could ignore, so it seemed like a decent way to save some cash.

Chloe, however, had dragged her and Aubrey apartment hunting closer to the city at every free opportunity. They'd walked through every studio, every loft, every one and two bedroom in the entire universe, Beca felt. And Chloe would do the same thing in every one, she'd carefully check out all the important stuff like plumbing and gas, closet space (that was Aubrey's number one criteria), and then go and stand by the front door. She'd look around and squint a little, head tilted, and would declare whether or not it made the short list.

Beca had no idea what Chloe was looking at, or looking for, but she figured whatever it was must have been important because she discounted a good half of the acceptable apartments that Beca would have been happy to live in.

Aubrey had ditched them halfway through the current apartment hunting session, she still had to finalize some paperwork for her new job. Chloe was chatting in that animated, non-disclosing way to the realtor and Beca was following up the rear. The realtor was a guy named Duncan, and he was unlocking the door for them to have a look at a place that had just gone on the market. Chloe walked into the room and turned around slowly.

"Oh, this is great," she said. "This is better." Beca just headed for the bathroom, knowing that Chloe would be in there to check it out shortly, and left the realtor to give his spiel. It was two bedrooms, not huge but not tiny, and the living area was open and had a private balcony. Sun was absolutely streaming in through the glass doors, and when Beca found Chloe in the bedroom the redhead looked excited.

"This place has a better feel to it, don't you think?" she said.

"Sure," Beca agreed, her tone clearly giving away the fact that she had no idea what Chloe was on about. The finished poking around and then Chloe walked to the doorway. She tilted her head to the left and looked at the room. Then, with a raised eyebrow and a smile, she turned to the realtor.

"I'll take it," she said. "I'm in." Beca looked at her, and the realtor went to his car to get a bunch of paperwork.

"You're sure?" she said. "We looked at about a thousand places. This is definitely the one?"

"Yep," Chloe replied. "It's like, when I stand here, I can see where the couch is gonna go. And I can see Aubrey visiting and sitting with me on the balcony to eat breakfast. And that wall over there is where all my Bellas stuff is going to go. And I can see you, and Amy, and Stacie and the girls crowded around the kitchen drinking cocktails with me. And like, there'll be a spare bed where you can crash when you don't want to go home to your dad and stepmom after working all night, where it'll be dark in the morning so you can sleep late if you want to, and- "

Beca registered that for a second. Sure, there were probably going to be days, a lot of them, where she didn't want to have to go home to Sheila and her dad. They lived a half hour further from where they were now. But she just figured she'd crash at Amy's, or one of the other girls. Or she'd just suck it up, maybe crash at the station. But Chloe had thought of _her_ when looking at apartments, like she wanted her to be there. A lot.

"You want me to come and hang out here all the time?" Beca said. "A nerdy freshman cramping your style?"

"Duh," Chloe replied. "I've never lived on my own before. Can you imagine how crazy I'm going to go if I'm here all on my own all the time?" Beca had to concede that point, Chloe virtually existed on human interaction.

"And anyway," Chloe continued, "In a week you'll be a sophomore, so that eliminates the nerdy freshman status."

"And in a week, you won't even be a student anymore," Beca countered. "Nervous?"

"Not really," Chloe said. "I've been waiting for this since I left high school. You know, to be all grown up."

"So what comes next, then?" Beca asked.

"You know," Chloe said. "Work my ass off, save like crazy so I can buy a place, find someone I love, get married, have a couple kids… The usual."

"Dude," Beca said. "That's specific. And intense." The realtor came back and broke up their conversation. Beca stood out on the balcony while Chloe filled all the necessary bits of paper in and wrote a check. The day was warm, properly warm, testament to summer being almost on top of them. Beca had never experienced the full heat of an Atlanta summer before, but she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to get away with the jeans she pretty much lived in all year round. She leaned against the wall in the sun and closed her eyes.

"Beca? DJ? You awake there?" Chloe was saying.

"Yeah," Beca said. "What?"

"I'm all done. I get to pick up keys tomorrow. Know what that means?"

"You only have to spend one more night in the delightful Barden student accommodation?"

"It means now there's furniture shopping, and decorating!" she said excitedly. Beca's eyes widened. That was not the sort of thing she was interested in. "Don't worry, Beca. This is more an Aubrey and Stacie thing. You look positively terrified right now."

"I would have no idea how to decorate a house for you," Beca said. "And when I ever decorate a place of my own, you know I'm just going to get whatever is right in front of me." Chloe looked almost horrified.

"Then promise me you won't go shopping for that kind of stuff on your own," she said. "Take someone with you, whenever that happens."

"Okay, calm down," Beca laughed. "So, Chloe, are you happy with your new place?"

"Super happy," she said. "Alright, let's go. I'm pretty sure I owe you lunch."

"Lunch? I walked through every open apartment in Atlanta. You owe me lunch, dinner, and maybe even breakfast," Beca said. "But lunch is a start."

Beca didn't see Chloe much over the next couple of days, after the redhead picked up her keys she disappeared to clean 'the absolute living crap' out of the apartment before she started moving stuff in. She did speak to her a few times, specifically to confirm that she and the rest of the Bellas would be ditching class to come and watch Chloe and Aubrey graduate.

Graduation day was as hot as Beca could ever remember being. There were swarms of students in gowns of Barden blue, and bigger swarms of family and friends. The Bellas managed to get some seats together, toward the back, where they cheered loudly as their friends crossed the stage.

Chloe had finished setting up her new place, and had invited all the girls over for the next night to help her christen it, so they began to split up and finalise their own packing for summer break. Beca was about to leave when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket.

_Where are you? My folks and Aubrey's mom want to meet you! xo_

Beca texted back her approximate location, but Chloe called her.

"You're so tiny, there's no way I'm going to be able to see you," she said.

"Hey, you're not that much taller than me," Beca said defensively.

"No, but Aubrey is, and she can't see you either. Okay, we're left of the stage. Where the flagpole is, but down about thirty feet, on the campus side of the road," Chloe instructed.

"Okay," Beca said, beginning to walk. "The other girls are already gone, though, it's just me."

"Damn. That's okay though, they want to meet the girl who gave us our ICCA title," Chloe said.

"That was totally a team thing," Beca said. She caught sight of them and hung up the phone, walking quickly toward the group. There was a blonde woman who had to be Aubrey's mom, and a smiling couple consisting of a tiny dark haired woman and a tall man with fair hair and Chloe's eyes. They didn't look like what she'd imagined, she'd insanely thought that any parents of Chloe's would have to be redheads.

"Mom, Dad, Mrs Posen, this is Beca Mitchell," Chloe said. "She's the captain of the Bellas now. Beca, my parents and Aubrey's mom."

"Nice to meet you all," she said politely, shaking all of their hands.

"Nice to finally meet you, too, honey," Chloe's mother said. "Aren't you the cutest little thing? Chloe told us all about you, and your music, and how you helped the Bellas."

"God, mom, that makes me sound like a crazy stalker," Chloe said rolling her eyes.

"Aubrey's talked about you too," Mrs Posen said. "I'm glad you two managed to become friends."

"Me too," Beca said honestly. "And I already swore to them that I'll do whatever I can to make sure Bellas are champions forever."

"We're going to lunch, do you want to join us?" Chloe's father said.

"I really appreciate the offer," Beca said, "But this should be a family thing."

"You sure?" Chloe's mom said.

"Definitely," Beca said. "But it was good to meet you guys. Besides, I'm not quite done packing my own stuff." She left the Beales and Posens to their celebratory lunch and headed back to her dorm.

Kimmy Jin was packed, and Beca was pretty much packed except for some music stuff she had laying around. Her dad was coming to pick her up later that afternoon, and generally ignoring the fact that she was likely going to skip her last day of classes. She packed the last of her stuff, chatting to Kimmy Jin as she did so. They realized that they probably wouldn't see much of each other the next year, since they were taking completely different subjects. But they promised to stay friends, and Beca was glad.

When Kimmy Jin announced that she had to leave since she was driving to Maine over the next few days, they hugged for a brief second, then Beca helped her carry all her stuff downstairs. Then she went upstairs and lay on her stripped bed to wait for her dad to come and pick her up.


	6. Chapter 6

Beca was already feeling awkward in her dad's house. Sheila had been oddly polite, but stiff like she was repressing some hardcore disdain when she'd seen Beca. So Beca had just taken her stuff to the room her dad had said was hers for the summer and as long as she wanted it, and set about trying to unpack into it. She chatted her way through dinner with her dad, ignoring Sheila where possible, and they ended up talking about the Bellas, and Chloe and Aubrey's graduation.

"So you're going to need a couple of new Bellas," her dad said. "How do you think that's going to go?"

"Shouldn't be too hard now that we're national champs," Beca said. "But it won't be the same as having Chloe and Aubrey."

"You got pretty tight with them, huh?" her dad said.

"Yeah," Beca replied. "I'm gonna miss Aubrey when she leaves."

"When does she go to Florida?"

"Day after tomorrow," Beca said. "She's staying an extra day so we can all be there for Chloe's housewarming."

"This seems like an opportune moment," her father began, "to tell you that I was talking to your mother today."

"God, the last time the two of you talked it was because I punched Brady Fuller in the face after he called me a-"

"I know," her dad cut in. "But we talked about how well you're doing, and how you've stepped up by taking responsibility for the Bellas, and also with your job at the station. So we've decided that we're going to buy you a car."

"Shit, what!?" Beca said. Her stepmother visibly flinched at the profanity.

"Not a new car, but just something so you can get to and from the station over summer, so you can meet up with your friends without one of them having to drive all the way out here to the burbs, or driving my car," he said.

"You're serious?" she said. "Thanks, dad. That's really cool of you guys."

"There are rules, though," her dad said. "You're responsible for paying for gas. And so help me god if you ever drink and drive I'll take it and crush it into a cube, possibly with you inside."

"I won't, I promise," she said. "I know everyone thinks college is a non-stop drinking session, but I don't even _like_ alcohol."

"That's probably the most comforting thing I've ever heard," her father said dryly. "So, I've got this friend who has a dealership. He's expecting you in the morning. He's got a couple of cars in the price range we're willing to go for." Beca got up and hugged her dad. When she finished eating, she went back to her room. She immediately wanted to text Jesse, but stopped when she remembered that they had only exchanged work related pleasantries twice since they broke up, both times in the last two days. She sighed, because she missed him, missed goofing around with him.

Instead, she texted Amy and Jessica, and offered to pick them up for Chloe's housewarming the next night. Jessica hated driving in general, and Amy could drink an entire naval fleet under the table, despite not being old enough to drink in the US. She claimed that the day she turned eighteen her uncle had taken her drinking once a week until she could outlast everyone in the bar. That sounded plausible to Beca, since at every single thing they'd ever been to, Amy had been the last person standing, male or female. So when she pulled up to Jessica's parents house the next night in a second hand but well kept Corolla, Jessica and Amy bounded out excitedly.

"Thanks for picking us up Shorty," Amy said. "We can get straight up written off tonight!"

"I don't think it's a drink til you challenge strangers to trolley jousting in a Taco Bell parking lot kind of deal," Beca laughed, reliving one of the Australian's more epic moments. "Cocktails with the girls, that's it."

"Well, if the handles of tequila we brought are anything to do with it, I don't know how right you are," Amy laughed, leaning forward to high five Jessica in the front.

Chloe had done her entire apartment in less than a week – cleaned, moved in, decorated and furnished. It was exactly like Beca imagined it would be, bold and eye-catching, but it felt like a place you wanted to be, as soon as you walked in. Chloe hugged them all on arrival, rolling her eyes at the amount of tequila Amy had brought and gave the girls a quick tour.

"Drinks?" Aubrey said, coming into the bedroom. "We should get this housewarming started."

"I'm not drinking," Beca said. "Promised my dad. He mentioned death as a punishment, so."

"Come on Chief," Cynthia Rose said. "One won't kill you."

"One, and my dad will," Beca said. "Amy can drink my share."

"I'm on it, Shorty," Amy said, clapping her on the shoulder. "Consider it covered." Chloe slipped up behind Beca.

"You don't have to drink if you don't want to," she said. "I know you don't really like alcohol."

"I'm the worst college kid ever," Beca confirmed. "But I will be here to hold back your hair if you puke."

"Very chivalrous," Chloe chuckled, and then added quietly. "But I'm not planning on a bender. In fact, if Amy hadn't brought all that tequila, there'd barely be enough alcohol here to get us all half-drunk." The girls began to file out of the room, but Chloe and Beca stayed.

"So what you're saying is that when Amy isn't looking I should go and hide one of those bottles?" Beca said. "Coz I'll do that. And I'll take the blame if she catches me."

"That would be great. I don't want to piss off my neighbors the first week I'm here by having some crazy out of control party," Chloe said. "Plus, I _just_ decorated."

"Looks great, by the way," Beca said. "It looks like just you. Bold. But inviting, like you're at home."

"You think I'm bold?"

"Yeah," Beca said emphatically. "Don't you remember accosting me in the showers? We were both buck naked and you wouldn't cover your junk or let me cover mine until I sang with you. I'd call that bold. And that would be an understatement." Chloe laughed richly, and agreed.

"Oh, I remember," she said. She winked and went into the kitchen. Beca felt herself go red. Knowing that Chloe Beale had seen her stark naked still made her blush uncontrollably. And knowing that she had seen Chloe fully naked was just as bad. It wasn't so much the nudity, in general, that Beca had a problem with. It was what accompanied the nudity. She knew what Chloe looked like, under the dresses and jeans, and sometimes when she wasn't paying attention she could see it. And when she told the redhead that her confidence in her body was well-founded it had been sarcastic, but it was the truth. Chloe teased her about it occasionally, and since none of the Bellas knew about it, it was their secret.

She joined the girls in the kitchen, since they were all getting their drink on, and Chloe passed her a bottle of iced tea from the fridge. They were milling around, some inside, some of them on the balcony. It was, Beca realized, the last time they'd all be together for the forseeable future.

"What are you thinking about?" Aubrey interrupted. "You look lost in thought."

"Nothing," Beca said. "Just, you know, it's the last time we're all gonna be here."

"Don't start that crap," Stacie said. "It is way too early in the night for us to start crying into our tequila sunrises, and you'll end up with mascara all over your face."

"What do you mean?" Beca said.

"Beca. Don't give me that. I know you're not wearing waterproof. I could probably name the brand of mascara you use if I look hard enough," Stacie said condescendingly.

"Seriously?" Cynthia said, interested. "Twenty bucks says that you can't."

"You're on," Stacie said. People came over to see what the outcome of the impromptu wager was.

"Dude, no," Beca said. "You guys are wagering on Stacie staring at my face from an uncomfortably close distance."

"Who's staring at what?" Amy said, coming in from the balcony.

"Stacie thinks she can tell us what brand of mascara Beca's wearing just by looking," Cynthia said. "Twenty bucks."

"Guys, seriously. If you want to make ridiculous wagers, lets do it about things that don't require you to be an inch from my face," Beca said. Stacie shushed her.

"This'll take ten seconds, be quiet," Stacie said. She bent down to look at Beca's eyes. Beca tried to shrink away, but Stacie had a hold of both arms. "Close your eyes?" Beca closed her eyes. She couldn't remember being part of anything so stupid in her life, but did as she was told, since everyone was content on watching the bet play out.

"Okay," Stacie said. "I've made up my mind. Now, Beca, I'm assuming you've got mascara in your bag, so you can back me up on this." Chloe grabbed Beca's bag.

"Alright, Mama Cyn," Stacie said, using her personal nickname for Cynthia, "Beca wears Maybelline Volum Express, Colossal, in glam black." Beca gestured to Chloe that she should open her bag. Chloe rooted around and came up with a tube of mascara, tossing it to Cynthia Rose.

"God damn you, Stacie," Cynthia said, pulling twenty bucks from her pocket. "How do you do that?" Stacie squealed, and some of the other girls cheered.

"One of my secret talents," she said. "I take mascara very seriously."

"Clearly," Beca said. "Now, if we're all done staring at my face, can we move on?" The girls continued their drinking and talking, and Beca found herself slowly walking through Chloe's apartment, taking in the details that she missed before when everyone else was around. She was in the guest bedroom, which was dark blues and greens, sitting at the low, long desk and reclining slightly in the seat when Chloe found her.

"Hey," she said, coming in and perching on the desk. "What's up?"

"Just checking it all out," Beca said. "I like this room."

"I hoped you would," Chloe said. "I mean, it's green and blue because Aubrey finds the colors relaxing, but I had you in mind too."

"Still can't believe I'm a factor in your decorating decisions," Beca said.

"Well, hopefully you'll be here a lot. Unless, you know, you'd rather hang out with your dad and Sheila."

"God no," Beca said. "I appreciate this though." Chloe just shrugged.

"My place should be somewhere my closest friends feel at home," she said. "Did you try out the bed yet?" Beca shook her head and was dragged over to the bed. She climbed on, acknowledging that it was pretty comfortable. Chloe climbed on too, settling down next to Beca. The redhead was unnecessarily close, her arm resting over Beca's, but Beca didn't mind. Chloe was one person who would always be touching her, and she'd accepted that to the point where she basically expected her to have her hands on her at some point whenever they were together.

"How are you, by the way?" Chloe said. "Heard from Jesse yet?"

"No," Beca said. It bothered her that he'd still not contacted her, more than she'd like to admit. "I think I fucked it up big time." Chloe nudged her with her elbow.

"Beca, what do you think would have happened if you'd continued dating Jesse, and he found out weeks, months later that you didn't love him?" she said. "That would have been fucked up. But he was like, really in love with you, so I guess he needs more time."

"I know," Beca said. "Thank god for you and Aubrey. I'd be wallowing somewhere no doubt, otherwise."

"Any time, for you," Chloe said. "You know-"

"Chloe!?" Aubrey's voice rang out. "Are you guys back there?" She appeared in the doorway.

"Yeah, what's up?" Chloe said.

"You might want to come out here, Amy's trying to invent a drink," she said, a worried look on her face.

"She does that all the time," Chloe said.

"Yeah, but this one involves her setting the tequila on fire," Aubrey said impatiently. Chloe sat upright.

"What!?" she said. "Jesus." She got up, and left Beca laying there on the bed while she went to deal with whatever mayhem the Australian was causing.


	7. Chapter 7

The night wore on, and Chloe managed to avert any beverage related fires being lit. She didn't manage to avoid the fact that Stacie, Denise and Jessica found her Wii and Just Dance games, and they were currently battling it out over some Katy Perry. Beca saw Aubrey standing out on the balcony, and went to join her.

"Hey," she said. "You okay?"

"Fine," Aubrey said. "Just, you know. I'll miss the girls. And Atlanta."

"Are you nervous?"

"I wouldn't say nervous," the blonde replied. "I know I can do this job. I think it's more like, this means a whole big part of my life is over. Leaving you guys here, leaving college and the Bellas behind."

"You're grieving," Beca said. "Because you're losing something significant." Aubrey shot her a weird look.

"Yeah – that's right," she said. "But I didn't expect that to come from you."

"Hey man, I took intro to psych," Beca said. "Hopefully this means I knew enough to pass." Aubrey peered past Beca into the apartment, making sure they were alone.

"Hey, do me a favor," Aubrey said. "I know you're going to take good care of the Bellas. But I'd really appreciate it if you'd watch out for Chloe."

"I'm sorry?" Beca said. She didn't quite understand why Aubrey was asking her to take care of a grown woman.

"Chloe is very literally the best friend I've ever had in my life," Aubrey said. "Without her I wouldn't have made it through college. She means the world to me. And despite her open and bubbly personality, she doesn't let many people in, not all the way. But she let you in Beca, and I want you to promise me you guys will be there for each other."

"Of course," Beca said. "But Aubrey, you're only going to Florida, it's not like you're dying." Aubrey sighed.

"I know," she relented. "But think about it, how many people do you see Chloe really close to besides you and me?" Beca thought about it. The redhead was always an open book with her, but she did guard herself around everyone else. She couldn't help but wear her heart on her sleeve, but when it came to actual, real disclosure, there was nobody apart from Aubrey and herself.

"Ok," Beca said quietly. "I will. And since we're being all sentimental and whatever, I'm going to miss you Aubrey. Bellas won't be the same without you. But also, just hanging out. I'm glad we managed to sort our differences out."

"Me too," Aubrey said, wiping away a tear. "Come here." She hugged Beca tight. They were both startled by the arms that wrapped around them.

"Sorry," came Chloe's voice. "But I saw my two best friends in the entire world hugging it out, and I had to crash it." They managed a few more seconds of group hugging before Beca saw something on the street that caused her to break it up.

"Hey," she said. "That dude is fully casing out my car!" She bent over the railing and yelled at the figure.

"You got a car?" Aubrey said, but the question was drowned out.

"Hey, dick! Back away from the car and I won't come down there with a crocodile wresting Australian," Beca yelled. The figure startled, and crouched down.

"We can still see you asshole!" Chloe yelled. The figure darted away down the street. "Christ, remind me to never ever park on the street."

"When did you get a car?" Aubrey repeated.

"Oh, yeah, this morning," Beca said. "Dad didn't want me forever begging rides, or more importantly, driving his car."

"That was super cool of him," Chloe said. "That'll be handy over the summer."

"It means that while he's teaching summer classes, I won't be stuck at home with Sheila, so I'm eternally grateful to him and my mom." Cynthia came out onto the balcony to inform them that Stacie and Amy were about to battle it out for Just Dance champion of the entire universe, and tell them that they should probably come watch it because it would be hilarious. So they broke their little gathering up and headed inside.

"Hey," Chloe said, pulling Beca into the bedroom. "While I've got you alone and the others are occupied."

"You abducted me into your bedroom, so I guess that qualifies in a roundabout way," Beca said. "What's so important it has to be held in stealth?"

"I wanted to give you something," Chloe said. "It's this." She handed her a key to the apartment.

"Chloe, no. I'm cool coming to hang out with you and whatever, but I'm not taking a god damn key to your apartment."

"Relax, DJ," Chloe said. "I gave one to Aubrey, too. Obviously I'm hoping you'll use yours way more than she does. But when I said I hoped you'd crash here after a night at the station, I meant it. And like hell I want to be getting up to let you in at four in the morning."

"Chlo, you're adorable, you are, but if you really think I'm going to come and invade your place in the middle of the night, you're crazy. What if you've got someone here?" Chloe laughed.

"Well, DJ, that is something you definitely don't need to worry about. Look, I live fifteen minutes from campus, and your dad's place is forty minutes from here. I don't consider you crashing here so you don't crash your car an inconvenience," Chloe said. "So take the key." Her wide blue eyes were intently boring into Beca's, so the younger girl took the key.

"Thanks," Beca said.

"Just, uh, maybe take all your DJ crap out of the car and bring it inside with you," Chloe said. "Since clearly the onstreet parking situation isn't very safe."

"Good call," Beca said, and hugged her. "You're like, the most awesome person alive, you know that, right?" The redhead shook her head and chuckled, but Beca noticed that for the first time she'd managed to make Chloe blush. Normally it was the other way around.

"Come on, let's go watch the girls kill themselves drunk Just Dancing," Chloe said. She dragged Beca out to watch Amy exuberantly battling Stacie, who was drunker but still winning.

"I think we'll call it a night after this," Beca said to Chloe. "Before Amy kills herself, sets your place on fire, or something worse." Chloe nodded, and they watched the final moments of their friends duel, ending in laughter and Amy finishing mermaid style on the floor.

"Who won?" Chloe asked.

"Who cares?" Stacie said. "That was fun!" Amy grabbed Stacie in a bear hug, and soon it became an all-in hug, the whole group crashing to the floor.

"Someone's on my hair!" Jessica said.

"And someone has their knee in my crotch," Lily said. "This worked better in theory."

"Alright," Beca said. "I'm calling it. Amy, Jess?"

"Yeah," Jessica said. "I actually have to work tomorrow." The girls began to crowd around Aubrey, saying their last goodbyes to her. When Aubrey got to Beca, she pulled her in for another hug.

"I'm going to call you for updates all the time," she promised.

"Please," Beca said. "I'm going to be calling you for help wrangling them. You saw that display of co-ordination and grace." They broke apart and smiled at each other. The girls were all leaving, cabs were pulling up to the building, but Beca stopped to make sure Chloe was okay.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," Chloe said softly. "I mean, I will be, I think."

"Call me if you have to," Beca said. "Any time, for you." She squeezed Chloe's hand and headed downstairs, to where Bellas were climbing into taxis, and Amy and Jessica were waiting by her car.

The next afternoon, she was working on some mixes in her room when she got a text from Chloe.

_I'm not okay._

Beca frowned for two reasons. First, Chloe wasn't okay. Second, she believed that Chloe wasn't okay, because ever since they first started exchanging texts, Chloe signed all of her texts with an 'xo'.

_Want me to come over? I'll bring ice-cream._

She waited almost twenty minutes before she got a response, nervously checking her phone every twenty seconds.

_Chunky Monkey._

Beca told Sheila she was going to Chloe's and probably was going to spend the night, because she didn't know how long it would take to bring Chloe out of whatever funk she'd gotten herself into, and asked her to tell her dad. Then she'd thrown a few things in her car and driven to Chloe's. She stopped at a 7-Eleven to get the promised ice-cream, and when she got to Chloe's, she let herself in.

Chloe was sitting on her couch in sweats – the first time Beca had seen her in sweats – and a Barden tee. She looked positively forlorn. Beca had never been good with words, so she didn't use any, just put the bag with the ice-cream on the table, sat down on the couch and gathered the redhead in her arms. Chloe began to cry, so Beca didn't let her go, just waited it out.

"You're really gonna miss her, I know," Beca said after the worst of the tears subsided.

"Yeah," Chloe sniffled. "She's my best friend."

"She's gonna miss you, too, Chloe. You know that right?" she said. Chloe just stayed attached to Beca's arm.

"I've never done anything huge in my life without Aubrey," Chloe said. "And she's always been there for me. So knowing that she's not there…"

"Well, I know I'm not Aubrey," Beca said. "She's taller, blonder, way more organized, and a lot more Stepford than me. But I'll be here. And I know that I don't have all that history with you that she does, but I promise, any time you need me, I can get over here with ice-cream, or pizza, or even a stupid chick flick."

"Promise?" Chloe said in a small voice.

"Promise," Beca said. "I brought you Chunky Monkey, didn't I? Want me to get some spoons?"

"Yeah," Chloe said, managing a small grin. Beca got up and went to get a couple of spoons, and Chloe flicked on the TV.

"What are we watching?" Beca asked.

"We are watching The Office or Parks and Rec, whichever I find first," Chloe said.

"That I can handle," Beca replied. "I was worried you were going to have me waching Top Model or Project Runway."

"Hey," Chloe said, opening the ice-cream, "Project Runway is amazing. Don't even start with me. But Top Model was more an Aubrey thing. I only like watching the ones where Tyra makes them cut all their hair off, and they cry." Beca found this hilarious for some reason, and she laughed hard until Chloe poked her in the ribs.

"Quiet you. Rashida." Beca made an apologetic face. Her phone rang, and she received a mock glare from Chloe.

"It's just my dad," Beca said. "Hey dad."

"Hey," he said. "Where are you? Sheila said you left ages ago and she didn't know where you went or when you were coming back." Beca rolled her eyes, and got up so she didn't interfere with Chloe's Parks and Recreation.

"Are you even kidding me? I told her Chloe called and that she was having a hard time, so I was probably going to stay the night. I also asked her to let you know, specifically so you wouldn't worry," she said, trying not to sound irate.

"She says you haven't said anything to her all day."

"Well, when we had this conversation, she was sitting in the living room, reading a book. I could even tell you what she was wearing if that'd help," Beca said. "Seriously, I told her." She heard her dad sigh.

"How's Chloe?"

"She's taking it rough. She hasn't really been on her own before, and she's missing Aubrey."

"Well, you do whatever it is you do to cheer her up. I'll see you tomorrow." Beca hung up, and rejoined Chloe on the couch.

"Ouch, look at the cranky face," Chloe said. She passed her the ice-cream. "Everything okay?"

"Just Sheila," Beca said. "I know we have some serious, fundamental points of difference, but she's just not happy that I'm home." Chloe tucked her feet up underneath her.

"Fundamental points of difference?" she asked. Beca looked at her carefully.

"This is therapy grade shit," Beca said. "I'm supposed to be making you feel better." Chloe picked up the remote and turned Amy Poehler and Aziz Ansari down.

"Come on," Chloe said. "We'll share dirty laundry. Fundamental laundry." Beca sighed and dug her spoon into the ice-cream.

"Okay, but we probably should have got more ice-cream."


	8. Chapter 8

"Well," Beca began, "I guess I should start at the very start. My dad left me and my mom when I was nine. He married Sheila when I was fourteen. And I'm a constant reminder to her that he had a life before she came along. I won't lie, I was pretty rough on my dad. But a lot of that had to do with my mom."

"Of course," Chloe agreed. "He left, so you felt like you had to demonstrate your loyalty to her."

"Exactly. Plus, I was pissed at him. But we're getting there. I like him, he's actually a cool guy. But Sheila just disagrees with me on principle."

"About what?"

"Everything," Beca said. "When I first started talking to my dad again, properly, I was around sixteen. She disagreed with the piercings. The tattoos. The way I dressed. The fact that I always had headphones on. The fact that I didn't go to church with them when I visited."

"Sounds like typical rebellious teenager stuff," Chloe said.

"It's more than that. She hated when I mentioned my mom. Hated when my dad and I talked about things we did when I was a kid. Hated that I called mom 'mom' and her 'Sheila'."

"They aren't really fundamental differences," Chloe said.

"Chloe, my stepmother very much disagrees with me fundamentally. She's an uptight, Republican, militant Christian who harbors 50s Redbook ideals," Beca laughed. "I'm a Democrat, an atheist, a reminder that her husband had a family before her, and the first boyfriend I brought to meet them had longer hair than I did."

"Wow," Chloe said, wrinkling her hair. "Long hair, really?"

"Should have seen the second person I brought home, she almost had a coronary," Beca said.

"Mohawk? Shaved head? Oh, cornrows!" Chloe said.

"Nope. Second boyfriend I brought home was a girlfriend," Beca said. "She literally turned red and had to leave the room."

"Beca! You dated a girl?"

"Yeah, for a while," Beca said. "No big deal."

"Why would you keep that a secret?" Chloe asked.

"Who said it was a secret?" Beca said, reaching for the ice-cream. "Nobody ever asked. And it's not like I was going to stop Bellas rehearsal and announce it. It's just a fact. Like my hair is brown. And I'm short. I date boys and girls."

"Anyone serious? Either sex?"

"Not really," Beca said. Then she added in a sarcastic tone, "You know, some people think that I have problems getting close to others?"

"No," Chloe deadpanned. "How rude!" They laughed.

"I don't know, I just… I don't even know what I'm looking for in a boyfriend or girlfriend, I just know that everything I've had so far, something is missing. Because yeah, I am hard to get to know. But it's not impossible."

"That, I do know," Chloe said. "And you shouldn't have to settle for almost. None of us should."

"Whatever happened to Tom, anyway?" Beca said. "You guys seemed to be getting on okay."

"Um, he called Aubrey a psychotic bitch from hell," Chloe said. "And even when I told him it wasn't cool, he wouldn't take it back."

"You broke up with him because he called Aubrey names?"

"Yep," Chloe said. "Beca, Aubrey is very literally my best friend in the entire world. She has flaws, big fat flaws, but she – and you and the Bellas – you're part of the Chloe Beale package. Can't take my friends, can't have me."

"Is this a Spice Girls moment? I feel like it's a Spice Girls moment," Beca said teasingly.

"Kind of," Chloe said. "Look, the standing joke is that you're closed off, and I have boundary issues. But honestly, I was way worse when I was a freshman, and Aubrey helped with that."

"How is that even possible?" Beca asked incredulously.

"And that would be my dirty laundry," Chloe said. Beca handed her the ice-cream. "So, ever since I was a little kid, I've been obsessed with having people like me. My parents never really had time for me, and I'm not saying they're bad people, they just had weird priorities. So I overcompensated, I guess, by being everybody's friend."

"Your parents seem really cool now," Beca said.

"I had a huge meltdown freshman year," Chloe said simply. "I got so caught up in pleasing people, it was just crazy. People would call me in the middle of the night to come pick them up from some party two hours away and I'd go. I'd shout fifteen people dinner. And you know, other stuff." She used a tone that made it pretty obvious what she was talking about.

"Chloe, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I am," Chloe confessed. "I'll admit it. I was with a lot of people. A lot. And it took its toll, you know? I got super stressed, started losing hair, got really skinny, never slept properly. And then my roommate dropped out of school, and Aubrey moved in."

"I'll bet that was a shock to the system," Beca said.

"The best way to describe it, I guess, is like… Have you ever been like freezing cold in the middle of winter? Like you got rained on, and you think even your bones are frozen? And then you get into the shower, and at first it hurts like hell, but then you give it a few minutes and you're warm again and you never want to get out?"

"That's an… interesting analogy."

"Aubrey was appalled with the way I was acting. She was pretty vocal about it, too. We had some epic screaming fights. She kept saying that I was better than that, I was smarter, and I was throwing it all away. I hated it because I knew she was right. I graduated first in my class at high school, know that? Then I got my midterms back, and I was failing every single subject."

"That's rough," Beca said.

"That's when I broke down. I was sick as hell, just fatigued and I cried at the drop of a hat. I didn't leave my room for days. On a good day, I'd get out of bed. Aubrey spent hours trying to convince me I could still make it work. People started dropping by the room, to find out if I wanted to party. Aubrey turned them all away," Chloe said. "Until she wasn't there one day, and a guy let himself into the room. I was barely aware of what was happening."

"Chloe, did some asshole rape you?" Beca said. "I will cut a bitch."

"No," she said, "But he probably would have if Aubrey hadn't come home. He was telling me how much everyone missed me, and that he was bummed he hadn't seen me out in a while because he'd wanted me for so long. I kept trying to push him off the bed, but I had no energy, I could barely sit up on my own."

"Jesus. What happened next?"

"Aubrey came home, saw him all up in my business. Grabbed him by the shirt, slapped him hard and dumped him outside."

"Go Aubrey."

"She cussed him out something bad, everyone in the hallway was watching," Chloe said. "He bailed eventually. She came in, climbed into my bed, and hugged me for like, four hours."

"That's intense," Beca said.

"So, the next day, she brings me breakfast, and I'm still a mess, but I'm starting to see that I can't keep doing what I'm doing, but I've got no idea how to change. She suggests we start with a shower, which makes me smile for the first time in forever. Then she tells me that she'll do anything I need to help. She drove me to counseling appointments. Stopped me freaking out when I had panic attacks, too," Chloe said. "She even tutored me so I'd pass finals. I owe her just about everything. She even got me interested in the Bellas, so I'd have something to focus on."

"Posen is kind of amazing," Beca said. "Don't ever tell her I said that."

"Want to hear the bizarre part? The dude who came into my room that day?"

"Yeah?"

"It was Bumper Allen. Why do you think he hated us so much?"

"Bumper?!" Beca exclaimed. "Oh, if I ever see him again, I _will_ cut a bitch."

"That's not necessary," Chloe said. "Though it's sweet. So, that kind of explains why Aubrey is like, the most important person to me. She has her own perfection issues, and she knows it, but god knows where I'd be without her now. So I couldn't handle it when Tom talked like that about her, because they don't know her like I do. Shame, I liked Tom a lot."

"Wow," Beca said. "Now I feel like I've under-shared."

"You don't have to tell me all your secrets," Chloe said. "But it's nice to have you here."

"Honestly, it's nice to have someone to talk to," Beca said. "Mostly I've always felt like people were judging me whenever I talked about myself. Sheila didn't help. Always felt like my problems didn't matter much."

"It sucks that you felt that way," Chloe said sympathetically. She shivered. "Alright, enough ice-cream. Coffee?"

"Are you planning on sleeping tonight?"

"It won't keep me up," Chloe said. Beca followed her to the kitchen as she turned the coffee maker on. "Can I ask you a personal question? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Um, that's slightly unnerving, but yeah," Beca said. "Go ahead."

"Why do you never talk about your mom? I mean, I've heard about your dad and Sheila. Do you not get along?" Beca paused for a moment. "If it's too hard to talk about, don't worry about it, Beca. I won't force it."

"No," Beca said. "My mom is the most amazing person I've ever known in my life. I adore her. Just... I don't talk about her much, because I spent years trying to convince people we didn't need their sympathy." Chloe just raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't interrupt. "And it's not the single parent thing. Chloe, my mom is sick. She has MS. And when it gets bad, it's pretty bad. She sometimes uses a wheelchair, sometimes a cane."

"Oh Beca, I'm sorry."

"She got diagnosed when I was twelve. And we handled it, together. I'm pretty independent, because I couldn't always count on her to be able to bound out of bed in the morning and cook breakfast like my friends moms, drive the carpool. I never resented her for it, never. I would trade places with her in a heartbeat, if it meant she was better. But you know we'd be out, and people would make remarks like 'it must be hard to have to take care of her' or 'why wouldn't you let her go live with her dad instead of burdening her like this?' and it just made me mad."

"That sounds kind of rude," Chloe said.

"She isn't a burden, she's my mom. And I hated the way that people made her feel. And the way I felt when they looked at us like we had to be pitied. She's tougher than anyone I know. So I keep that really close to my chest, because I can't stand people thinking badly of her, whether they intend it or not." Chloe surprised her by coming around the counter and hugging her.

"That's kind of beautiful," Chloe said. "Will you tell me about her?"

"My mom is the reason I like music. She taught me to play piano when I was a kid. And she has the best collection of vinyl. We used to just lay on cushions on the living room floor and listen to music for hours. Or we'd sit at the piano and sing. Her voice is amazing," Beca said. "And even though she's sick, she's still the most engaging person in a room. She laughs like a crazy person, and she believes that people can be good for no reason."

"She sounds awesome," Chloe said. "I'd love to meet her one day."

"She'd like you," Beca said. "She always worried I didn't have any close girl friends."

"Well, I feel very lucky that you've shared so much with me tonight." Their eyes met, and Chloe smiled warmly.

"Are you feeling better?" Beca asked, breaking eye contact.

"Much," Chloe smiled. "Will you stay tonight?"

"Sure," Beca said. "May as well make use of the room you decorated for me and Aubrey." She followed Chloe back to the couch, and as the redhead started scanning channels again, she regarded her carefully. Chloe had just heard more about her in one night than most people got in a lifetime. Normally Beca would be freaking out by now, but she felt oddly comfortable. Chloe found a Friends re-run and traded the remote for her coffee cup, burying herself in the brunette's side. Beca took a deep breath and relaxed. She felt… safe. And something else, that she couldn't quite pin down just yet.


	9. Chapter 9

When Beca woke the next morning, she could hear humming. More importantly, she could smell bacon. She rolled over and realized that she wasn't in her room, but in Chloe's guest room. She stumbled half-awake to the bathroom and then to the kitchen, where Chloe was just cooking eggs to go with the bacon.

"Oh, sorry," Chloe said. "Did I wake you rattling around out here?"

"No," Beca said. "The bacon woke me. And, for the record, waking up to bacon is never bad."

"Agreed. Won't be long. It's such a gorgeous day out, I thought we might eat on the balcony."

"Mind if I put on some coffee?"

"That'd be great," Chloe said. Beca remembered where everything was from the previous night and made both of them coffee while Chloe finished cooking. She kept humming as she did, an unconscious habit that she evidently wasn't aware of, and one Beca didn't mind.

"Alright, we're good to go," Chloe said. Beca held both coffee mugs in one hand and slid the door for Chloe who followed with two breakfast laden plates.

"Damn it's bright," Beca said. "I might just grab my sunglasses."

"Sure," Chloe said. Beca quickly went in and grabbed them, noticing that her phone was showing an unread message from a few moments ago. It was from Jesse. She read the text, replied quickly and shoved the phone in her pocket, not wanting the fruits of Chloe's labor to go cold.

"Sorry," she said, sitting down and eyeing off her food. "Jesse texted me."

"That's great," the redhead said. "Wait. Is it great?"

"It is," Beca said. "He's home over summer, but he wants to hang out when he gets back. Apparently he realized he misses hanging out and goofing off, more than he misses us being a couple. Apparently his brother thinks he's a loser thanks to a cappella and he has nobody to tease while watching movies."

"So it is great," Chloe surmised. "I'm happy for you. I know you missed him. Friendship wise."

"I did, truly," Beca said. "I mean, hanging out with you and Aubrey, and the Bellas, that's cool, but Jesse was like, the first proper friend I made at Barden."

"I like Jesse," Chloe said. "He always complimented the Bellas after we performed, even when we straight up sucked."

"Jesus," Beca said through a mouthful of eggs, "Chloe, where'd you learn to cook?"

"When your parents aren't home much, you learn," she shrugged. "I cooked for myself basically all of high school."

"I can barely make popcorn without setting the smoke alarm off," Beca said. "This is awesome."

"It's my way of saying thank you for holding my hand through a crazy patch last night," the redhead said, smiling at her.

"No thanks necessary," Beca replied. "We're friends. And I told you to call if you needed to."

"But, still. I'm a grown ass woman, and the first day my best friend isn't here I have a meltdown, it's not my finest hour," Chloe said. "How's the spare room bed?"

"Super comfy," Beca said. "My back barely handled a year on the dorm bed. I'm going to have to buy my own mattress. That thing was like cardboard. First night I was at my dad's, I lay in that bed for almost twelve hours, because I could."

"Well, any time you want to crash here, go for it," Chloe said. "When do you start your overnight shifts at the station?"

"Wednesday through Friday, eight pm to four am," Beca said. "And Luke said maybe later in the summer he'll let me program the Sunday unmanned shift."

"Anything else planned for summer?"

"Nope. Work on some mixes, maybe see what's going to stick for Bellas," Beca said. "I'm actually looking forward to coming up with new numbers with the girls. The whole audition thing, having to pick new girls, though, that's a little unsettling."

"You're going to kill it," Chloe said. "Aubrey did the right thing appointing you as captain. How many girls are you looking at recruiting next season?"

"Well, I'm not really sure," Beca said. "You and Aubrey need replacing. And we lost Kori and Mary Elise before that. Two minimum though. I just hope we can find enough girls who want to try out."

"It's always the hardest part," Chloe said. They finished their breakfast in semi silence, not feeling the need to chat endlessly. Beca realized the morning was getting away from them, it was almost eleven, and she figured she should probably put in an appearance at home. She helped clear up the breakfast dishes and took a shower, tossing on some jeans and a faded t-shirt. As she came out of the spare room, toweling her hair dry, Chloe handed her another cup of coffee.

"How did you know?" Beca asked.

"I've been rubbing off on you," she replied. "You're almost as bad as me with the coffee now."

"Except not at night time," Beca said. "Hope you don't mind, I borrowed your shampoo." Chloe smiled at her and tilted her head.

"It's not often that I see you without makeup on," Chloe said. "Eyeliner, mascara." Beca felt herself redden slightly.

"Not like that," Chloe continued nudging her. "I didn't mean it in a bad way. You look – I don't know. Different. Fresh?"

"I look fresh?" Beca teased. "Well, contrary to what everyone thinks, I don't wear it all the time." Chloe put a hand on Beca's shoulder, and for a moment Beca's heart thudded as a bizarre feeling stirred in her stomach. She could feel with great intensity the tips of Chloe's fingers on her shoulder, as if they were burning her. Then she realized Chloe was merely taking the towel she had thrown over her shoulder, and instantly berated herself. She blushed, thankful Chloe had left the room before she saw the red sweep across her face. In the time it took Chloe to take the towel back to the bathroom and put it in her laundry hamper, she managed to calm herself down and drain her cup of coffee, putting it in the sink.

"So, uh, I'm probably going to head home," Beca said. "Haven't seen dad in a few days. Will you be okay?"

"Yeah," Chloe said. "Thank you. For coming, and indulging in my self pity, for bringing ice cream and for staying the night." She threw her arms around Beca.

Normally an uninvited hug would cause Beca to stiffen up at the least, but she found herself relaxing in Chloe's embrace. The redhead was warm, and Beca fit perfectly in the slightly taller girls arms. The feeling she wasn't entirely sure about came back, warming her from the stomach out.

"It was my pleasure," Beca said, pulling back. "If you need me, just call. I'm not doing much til I start doing shifts at the station."

"Can I call you tomorrow?" Chloe said. "Post first day at work debrief?"

"Of course," Beca said. "I'd say good luck, but you're kind of amazing and you won't need it."

"Aubrey used to say that luck was for the ill-prepared," Chloe chuckled. "She was probably right. I'll be fine." Beca left and dumped her stuff in her car, then drove the forty minutes back to her dad's place. He wasn't home, but it was Sunday. According to her father, Sheila would drag him to church every Sunday if he wasn't working. She always found it odd that he'd ended up with Sheila, since he'd never shown much interest in religion of any kind that Beca could recall.

But it meant the house was empty, so she came in and fired up her computer straight away. She intended on spending a lot of time mixing over summer, some for Bellas, some for herself. Amy had told her about a few Australian bands and artists she might like, and offered to lend her some music. She was looking forward to hearing something new and seeing how it fit in with all the other crap that was rolling around in her brain.

She had a habit of losing track of time when she was working on music, allowing herself to let everything else around her become nothing. This time was no exception. She got to the point where she couldn't ignore the growling in her stomach any longer, and checked what time it was. It was after three-thirty. She pulled her headphones off, and went to see what was fast and easy to cook.

She was just asking herself if it would be ridiculous to go and get some pop tarts or toaster waffles or something that required minimum effort but delivered maximum sugar, when she realized her dad and Sheila still weren't home. She called her dad's cell.

"Beca?"

"Dad," Beca said. "You guys out somewhere?"

"Excuse me a moment," she heard her father say. "My daughter."

"Dad?"

"Sorry, sweetie, we're at Reverend Jason's. Sheila wanted me to come. Are you still at Chloe's?"

"Nope, I'm home," Beca said. "Should I expect you for dinner?"

"God I hope so," her father muttered. Beca stifled a laugh. "Seriously, Beca. If Sheila wants me to come to church every now and then, I can handle that. But this whole afternoon has been like some extended sermon. If I wanted to hear some boring twat drone on for hours I'd sit in one of Professor Masters lectures."

"Things you do for love, huh?" Beca said. "OK, I was just checking in. I'd offer to cook dinner tonight, but I presume you want edible food, and the house not to burn down. So, if you like, I can make my famous take-out Indian."

"Sounds good. I'll see you soon." She spotted some bagels in the cupboard and decided that would be enough to tide her over. As an afterthought she turned the coffee maker on. Then she shook her head. Chloe was right, she was a bad influence on her caffeine habits.

That brought her back to thinking about Chloe. And how she'd twice now felt _something_ when she was with the redhead – something undefined. She recognized the swooping sensation in the pit of her stomach, it had happened before, but things were different with Chloe. For starters, they were friends. Like, good friends. Chloe was the kind of friend her mother had wanted her to have her whole life. She knew more about her than anyone else. She wanted to be friends with Chloe, and that in itself was a small miracle, because she never did like making friends before.

So when Chloe had hugged her and she'd felt that _thing_ she was a little worried. Because that thing normally led to Beca doing something stupid like kissing someone, or running the hell away and she didn't want to risk losing Chloe by doing either one of them. She didn't even know if she really wanted to kiss her, but she did know she didn't want to run away. So she resolved to squish that feeling right down and pretend it wasn't there. Because that always worked. For a while.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Beca made sure she was awake early enough so that she could send a text to Chloe before she left for her first day of work. Chloe had explained to her once what exactly she was doing, and Beca remembered it had something to do with growing bacteria cultures but not much else. Science never was her strong suit, she had still barely given thought to her own major. She did know, however, that it was a great job, one a lot of graduates would kill to have and it was likely to be a steady career for her friend. Aubrey had told her that much. So she knew it was a big deal to Chloe, and that Chloe would likely be pretending that she was confident. Chloe probably _was_ confident, but she would still have a few lingering doubts.

_Hey Chlo. Good luck on your first day as a real grown up. You will be amazing, because you are amazing. Call me later._

Chloe got the text as she was just touching up her hair. She'd gotten up earlier than was necessary, because she couldn't sleep. She couldn't decide if she was more excited or nervous, but either way she wasn't getting any more sleep. She got up and made coffee, tried to read, but ended up sitting on her balcony and just watching as the sun came up, before she went about getting ready for her first day. And then she'd gotten the text from Beca.

It meant a lot to her that Beca would text her. Because she'd sworn up and down that she'd be fine, but Beca knew her well enough to know that she was still a little nervous. And she'd woken up early enough to send it to her, which was a pretty unheard of thing for Beca to begin with. Honestly, it resolved that last lingering doubt that she'd had. So she smiled, and texted back.

_Thanks DJ. This is why you're my favorite. (Don't tell Aubrey.) xo_

Beca smiled when she read the message. Her phone immediately buzzed again.

_Now go back to sleep. xo_

Beca rolled her eyes, but she put her phone back down and wriggled back down into her bed. She debated going back to sleep, but figured she may as well get up and try not to oversleep every day this summer. It'd only be a habit she'd have to break when she got back to school.

She got up and walked lightly downstairs, not sure if her dad and Sheila were up. When she got to the kitchen, she saw they were both already awake and making breakfast. She flipped the coffee pot on.

"Morning Bec," her dad said.

"Morning," she replied.

"You're up early," he observed. "Any particular reason?"

"Not really," Beca said. "I wanted to make sure I texted Chloe good luck for her first day. You guys want coffee?"

"Yes, thanks," Sheila said. "Though I don't remember you drinking quite so much coffee. I feel like we've gone through a lot lately."

"Blame Chloe," Beca said, busying herself with the mugs. "She got me hooked." She didn't see her dad arch an eyebrow in her direction, or the slight frown that flickered across Sheila's face. She handed her dad and Sheila some coffee and put a bagel in to toast.

"Thanks," her dad said.

"You guys both working today?"

"Yeah," Sheila said. "Do you have any plans Beca?"

"Nope. I don't start doing station shifts til Wednesday. So if you need to take advantage of me to do errands or whatever, just let me know."

"Actually, it'd be a help if you could pick up some groceries," Sheila said coolly. "Just enough for you and your dad, I'm flying out tomorrow."

"Where to this time?" Beca asked. She was trying to be civil, even though every time Sheila looked at her she could feel the disdain pouring from her.

"Portland. Til Friday." Sheila was a loan broker for small businesses and she was often flying all over the country. Beca worried, for the first time, about how much time Sheila spent on the road. Not for Sheila's sake, because despite whatever uneasy truce they had right now, they very rarely got along. But for her dad's sake. She figured he must be lonely.

"Yeah, it's not a problem, I'll pick up some groceries later today," Beca said. She poured her coffee and took it up to her room. She had several barely-planned mixes on her computer and summer was going to be the perfect time to work on them all. She turned her computer on and sat down.

"Hey Beca," her dad said. "I'm leaving for work soon. Sheila's already gone."

"Okay," she said. He pulled out his wallet and handed her some cash.

"For the groceries. You're not gonna spend your entire vacation in here are you?"

"No," she said. "I've got work, and I'll hang out with the Bellas, and I'll go see mom for a few days. I promise I won't turn into a recluse. I'm just up early, and it's probably a good idea to stay in the habit of not sleeping in."

"Good to hear," he said.

"Anything specific you want me to get?" Beca asked.

"Not really, but if I think of anything I'll text you," he said. "Have a good day."

She spent a couple of hours working on a mix, then decided to jump in the shower and venture out of the house. She went out and got the groceries, fielding a phone call from Stacie as she was putting the last bag in her car.

"Hey Stace," she said. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Stacie said. "Just want to see if you wanna hang out sometime this week. I promised myself I'd do more than tan this summer."

"And I promised myself and my dad I'd do more than sit in my room and work on music," Beca said. "Sure. Let's do it. Is this a me and you thing, or a Bellas thing?"

"I'm up for both," Stacie said. "I don't always need to be in a crowd, believe it or not. We can ask the girls to do something later in the week if you like. But let's grab lunch or something tomorrow."

"For sure," Beca said. "You tell me where and I'll be there."

"Do you eat sushi?"

"God no," Beca said. "Anything but sushi."

"Okay, I'll call you later." Stacie hung up. Beca felt good – it wasn't exactly common for her to hang out with people when she was on vacation, but she actually really liked the Bellas. Even Lily and her possible homicidal mania, and Amy's overly loud antics.

It was about five thirty when her phone buzzed.

_Busy? xo_

She dialed Chloe's phone.

"Hey," Beca said. "How was your first day?"

"Pretty good I think," Chloe replied. "The work is interesting and the people are pretty nice. They're all a little older than me, though. I feel like a little kid. The guy I'm partnering, Jonas, is thirty six."

"I knew you'd be fine."

"I will take your word on everything from now on," Chloe replied. "What did you get up to today?"

"Not much. Worked on a mix, did a bit of grocery shopping, some cleaning. Made plans to have lunch with Stacie tomorrow," Beca said.

"Really?"

"She promised herself she'd do more than tan this summer, I promised myself I'd do more than sit in my room in front of my computer," Beca said. "And Stacie's pretty cool, I guess. Have you heard from Aubrey today?"

"She called around lunch time," Chloe said. "She sounded happy but busy, which I guess is pretty good for her. I was gonna call her after I talked to you." Beca was pretty impressed that she had seemingly outranked Aubrey Posen on the list of people Chloe wanted to talk to at the end of the day, but didn't say anything to that effect.

"Anyway," Chloe said, "Thanks for cheering me up this morning."

"No problem," Beca said. "Though I'll have you know, I didn't go back to sleep."

"No freaking way," Chloe said. "Miracles. Every day, miracles." They both laughed.

"Hey do you have plans for Saturday?" Beca said.

"Nope," Chloe said. "Anything in mind?"

"Well, I've never actually suffered through a summer here and I feel like this whole jeans and boots thing I have going will end up in me melting into a puddle on the floor. Wanna come shopping with me?"

"As if that's even a question," Chloe said. "I love shopping."

"It'll have to be after I sleep off my overnight shift," Beca said.

"Are you planning on staying here during the week?"

"If that's still cool with you," Beca said.

"Of course it is," Chloe said. "Just let yourself in."'

"Thanks," Beca said. "I'll try not to wake you."

"I can sleep through anything," Chloe said. "Remember that time I slept through Cynthia Rose and Amy having a rap battle even though all you guys were laughing your asses off?"

"Yeah, that was pretty intense sleep," Beca said. "I thought Aubrey was going to have to carry you home, like a dad carries a little kid."

"Well, I'll probably talk to you sometime between now and then," Chloe said. "I gotta call Aubrey. Have fun with Stacie tomorrow."

"Will do," Beca said. "Talk to you later."

The next day, Beca met Stacie at the restaurant she'd designated as a good place to have lunch. It was only around one-third full, and they snagged a booth by the window. Beca liked Stacie well enough, but she couldn't say she knew a great deal about the girl apart from her love of music and sex in equal measure.

Over the course of burgers and some world class cheese fries, Beca learned that Stacie grew up in Sacramento. She'd made mention of a brother once before, but she in fact had two older brothers and a younger sister. She'd already declared a major, and she claimed she'd known what she wanted to do since she was fourteen, and that was become a forensic anthropologist. It surprised Beca a little.

"I know everyone thinks I'm some kind of idiot," Stacie said. "I'll admit to having blonde moments, but I'm actually pretty smart."

"Clearly," Beca said. "I have no idea what I want my major to be."

"You should probably get on that," Stacie advised.

"Hell, I didn't even think I wanted to stay at college beyond this year until just before nationals," Beca said. "Maybe that's something else I should do this summer, try and figure out what my major should be."

"I'm surprised your dad isn't on your ass about it already," Stacie laughed.

"I think he's more just happy that I'm still planning on going to school at all." They kept talking and Beca shared with Stacie about growing up in Portland, no brothers or sisters, and on request, the stories behind her tattoos.

"My mom would have killed me if I'd come home with a tattoo at sixteen," Stacie said, talking about the headphones on her wrist.

"She was there for it," Beca said. "That's how I was allowed to get it. Her friend's husband works in a tattoo place."

"That's really cool."

"She made me wait a year first," Beca said. "To make sure it wasn't a phase. And after that she figured I knew what I was getting into, and if I was stupid enough to get a dumb tattoo, I should be stupid enough to live with it."

"Smart woman." Beca drank two cups of coffee to Stacie's one as they continued chatting. By the time they were done, Beca realized she enjoyed hanging out with Stacie a lot. She was a lot different than she first appeared, much quieter, just as funny, and generally likeable.

"I had fun," Beca said as they paid the check. "We should totally make this a recurring thing."

"Me too," Stacie said. "I'm glad we're friends. Should we try and set up a Bellas date for sometime this weekend?"

"I'm working Friday on the overnight, and Saturday I've got a shopping date with Chloe," Beca said. "So Saturday night and Sunday would work for me."

"I'll text the girls," Stacie said. "And let you know how I go." They parted ways and Beca drove home. As she booted up her computer to work on some mixes, she realized that between work, Bellas, hanging out with Chloe and mixing, she was actually going to thoroughly enjoy her summer.


	11. Chapter 11

The week flew past for Beca. She went to work Wednesday night and then drove the short distance to Chloe's place, where she was careful to make next to no noise at all. The redhead had left her a towel and washcloth with a note attached.

_For the morning or whatever. I'll be gone when you wake up but help yourself to anything. xo_

She kicked off her shoes and tugged her jeans down and hung them over the back of the chair. Then she collapsed into the bed, pulling the sheet somewhere to her midsection.

She didn't hear Chloe leave in the morning. When she finally did wake up it was eleven am. She stumbled into the shower and got dressed, then walked into the kitchen in search of coffee. She also found some Pop-Tarts in a cupboard and she knew Chloe would have bought them for her, because she had once professed that she wasn't a fan.

It was a sunny and sweltering hot day, and Beca had to grab her sunglasses before she could stand out on the balcony and drink her coffee. She texted her dad to let him know she was alive, and he'd called to see how work had gone.

She wondered if there was any point in driving home to her dad's place at all until Saturday. By the time she got all the way home, she'd only be there for maybe two hours before she was due to leave again for work. She wondered if Chloe would mind if she just moved in for Thursday through Saturday, and decided to text her.

_Hey Chlo, text me when you're free._

Her phone rang almost immediately.

"Hey Beca," she said. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Beca said. "If you're busy."

"I'm at lunch," she said. "Not busy in the slightest."

"I was wondering," Beca said, "If you mind if I just leave my stuff here for the next few days. It'll save me driving all the way back to dads for like, two hours. Unless it's an inconvenience, which I'll totally understand."

"No that's fine," Chloe said. "Makes sense. But we're still on for Saturday?"

"Yeah for sure," Beca said. "It's like a zillion degrees today, so the shopping is a thing that has to happen. But Stacie was thinking about doing something with all the girls Saturday night if you're keen."

"Sounds fun," Chloe said.

"How's work?"

"I really like it," Chloe said. "Does that make me super lame?"

"No, it makes you lucky," Beca said. "Because right now you're getting paid to do something you like and find interesting."

"You're right," Chloe said. "Alright, part time roomie, I better go."

"Ok," Beca said. "I'll buy more milk before I leave for work. And thanks for the Pop-Tarts by the way."

"No problems DJ. Talk to you later." Beca went into the bedroom and took everything she wouldn't need that afternoon out of her bag. She only had the one tee shirt on her, but there were a few shops not far away and she figured she had a couple of hours to kill. She drove down and picked up some shirts socks and underwear, figuring that her jeans would at least last a few days. Then she went in to a supermarket and grabbed some milk, and on a whim, some cupcakes. Chloe loved cupcakes, and she wanted to get her something little to say thanks for letting her invade her space. She left the cupcakes with a note on top when she went to work.

_Thanks for letting me crash here. I owe you. DJ._

The next day she woke up at a similar time and found a post it on the coffee machine.

_Cupcakes? You know me too well. Call Stacie or Amy, they both rang about Saturday night. xo_

Beca drank her coffee on the balcony again in the summer sun, and walked down to the corner deli and grabbed a couple of sandwiches. She called Stacie, who wanted to lock in dinner on Saturday night with optional clubbing.

"Sure, where are we going?" Beca asked.

"The Outhouse," Stacie said. "Amy picked it. Good food, loud music, and apparently karaoke."

"Of course Amy would pick a place like that," Beca said. "That's cool, I'll see you guys then."

"How's the shacking up with Chloe going?" Stacie asked, a teasing lilt in her voice.

"What? Who's shacking up?"

"You and Chloe," Stacie said.

"How are we shacking up?" Beca asked. "I'm crashing in her guest room a couple nights a week so I don't have to drive to my dad's. I haven't even seen her."

"Uh-huh," Stacie said. "Beca, we're going to talk about this. I think we should have lunch on Tuesday again."

"That's fine with me, but there's nothing to talk about with Chloe. And it's weird that you would even think that there was. We can talk about anything else. Like, my major maybe."

"You've been thinking about that?"

"Actually, no," Beca laughed. "But I promise I will. I'll talk to you later."

"Later, Beca." When she left for work that evening, she left a note on the fridge for Chloe.

_Wake me at ten thirty and we'll go get our shopping on._

She didn't expect to actually hear from Chloe until the next day, but the redhead appeared at the radio station a little after eight thirty. She had takeout ramen with her, and as Beca unlocked the door, she waved it around.

"Something tells me that you've been eating nothing but Pop-Tarts for the past few days," Chloe said.

"Please, I ate a sandwich today. And, like, six cups of coffee," she said, letting her in.

"This is how you say thank you?" Chloe sassed.

"Thanks for bringing me dinner, Beale. I was going to eat like, a week old Snickers bar from Luke's desk otherwise," she said. "So apart from bringing me dinner, to what do I owe the pleasure this evening?"

"I dunno, it just seems weird that you've been in my house three days this week and I haven't actually seen you."

"You're right, that is weird," Beca said. "Though, while we're on the subject, I want to be clear that if this isn't going to work out for you, just let me know."

"Beca, I've said it's cool. We just established that we don't even see each other. If it weren't for your jacket tossed over the back of the couch, I wouldn't even have known you were there at all."

"And the disappearing Pop-Tarts."

"Which I only bought for you anyway," Chloe said. "Plus, we're friends. Seeing each other is a thing that's allowed to happen."

"Are you coming to dinner tomorrow night?"

"Sure am," Chloe said. "Though from the name of the place it sounds like Amy's picked a cowboy steakhouse."

"With karaoke," Beca added. "But that's Amy." Chloe pulled the two ramen bowls out. She peeled the lid off one and smelled it.

"This one's yours," she said. "Pork, not fish, because you hate all seafood ever."

"Thanks," Beca said. "Come on, I'll cue up some music and we'll eat."

As they ate, Chloe explained exactly what she was doing at work. It sounded impressive, and the watered down version was that she was testing strains of bacteria for resistance to a new drug the company was working on. Then Beca brought up that she and Stacie were going to try and narrow down a major for her over the summer.

"Stacie wants to be a forensic anthropologist?" Chloe said incredulously. "Stacie Conrad. With the boobs and short skirts and the hunter-vagina?"

"She's actually really smart," Beca said. "I know, though. Never saw it coming." They chatted for a while longer until Chloe declared she needed some sleep.

"I'll wake you at ten thirty," she promised.

"Thanks for bringing dinner," Beca said. "I'll buy lunch tomorrow." She locked the door behind Chloe and shut herself back in the booth. She still had hours to kill. Normally it'd be great mixing time, but she couldn't mix in the booth. She normally just scribbled ideas on a notepad, bits of lyrics so she knew where songs should intersect. But tonight she didn't really feel like it.

She introduced the next bracket and cued up a half hour's worth of music, lay on the floor of the booth and stared at the ceiling. She realized she was pretty happy right now, and that was something that didn't happen for her. It was a good feeling.

The next morning, she woke to the smell of coffee. Chloe was sitting at the desk, and she was holding a cup in each hand. She offered one to Beca.

"It's ten thirty," she said. "I figured this was the least obtrusive way to wake you up."

"That all depends on how long you've been sitting there," Beca mumbled. She sat up, and quickly tied her hair back, using a band that was on her wrist.

"Less than two minutes," Chloe said. "You sleep heavy." Beca took one of the cups and took a long drink.

"I do," Beca said. "By the way, my dad wanted to know when I started drinking so much coffee."

"I think it was right around Nationals. You, me and Aubrey pulled all nighters working on that."

"You're probably right. I should probably take a shower." She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and got up, not remembering that due to lack of forethought and the intense summer heat, she wasn't actually wearing any bottoms. Just some boyleg underwear under her ringer tee.

"Um, Beca?" Chloe said. "I don't know if it escaped your attention, but you're not wearing pants." Beca looked down.

"Nope. I'm not," she said. She shrugged. "You've seen me naked, Chloe. And it's way too hot to sleep in my jeans."

"Doesn't bother me," Chloe said lightly. "I thought it might have bothered you. I didn't think you were a casually-undressed-in-front-of-everyone person."

"And by everyone, you mean just you?" Beca said. "Coz trust me, if everyone was here, I'd be cowering under the blanket. I'm going to take a shower. Won't be long." She grabbed a different tee and some underwear and headed to the bathroom, giving no further thought to what had just happened.

Chloe was thinking about it though. Not in a dirty way. Just that Beca seemed to be getting increasingly comfortable with her. In her apartment. In her life. She liked being the person that Beca seemingly broke most of her self imposed rules for. And now that Aubrey had gone to Florida, she was glad that there was someone she could be close with. She and Beca were different though, there would be no way Aubrey would tolerate the gentle teasing and mild insults that she and Beca tossed at one another. She smiled to herself and got up, drinking the last of her coffee, and went to get ready to leave.

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

Beca wasn't normally a fan of shopping. Most of the girls she'd ever been shopping with in school just wanted to drool over clothes they would likely never be able to afford, stare at themselves in poorly lit mirrors and complain that they were fat even though they were all ridiculously thin. And she'd seen the sorts of hauls Aubrey and Chloe had brought back from malls before. But Chloe was surprisingly restrained throughout their shopping trip. Beca ended up with her entire new summer wardrobe, one that wasn't going to make her melt like her previous uniform of jeans surely would.

Beca dropped Chloe off at her place before driving back to her dads. She killed some time working on a few new mixes and talking to her dad for a while before getting ready for dinner with the girls. Every night out they'd been to thus far had generally ended in some kind of alcohol related shenanigan, normally Fat Amy and her partner in crime Cynthia Rose letting booze make bad decisions for them.

When she got to the restaurant that night, she was greeted by Cynthia Rose informing her that the bitch behind the bar was carding like a machine and it meant that nobody but Chloe would get served alcohol that night. It didn't matter much, because Fat Amy was a one-woman show unto herself and in not much time she was entertaining most of the crowd singing exuberant karaoke with Lily and Stacie. All in all the food was good and Beca ended up really enjoying herself. It looked like they all did, but Beca was the first to beg off tired, which earned her a round of boos.

"Come on Chief," Cynthia Rose said. "Just another hour."

"I think you guys can handle it without me," Beca said. "But we'll do it again soon. We should go to The Broken Chandelier sometime."

"Next weekend?" Ashley said. "It's a date." Everyone seemed to agree, and Beca set about saying goodbye to all the girls, a feat that generally took a good fifteen minutes. She got to Chloe last, and the redhead hugged her tight.

"I'll talk to you soon," Chloe said. "Or I'll leave you a post it for when you get in."

"You do that," Beca said. "Later Chlo." She drove back home to her dad's house and crawled into bed, seeing her phone flash with notifications from Facebook. She opened the app and saw that she'd been tagged in photos from the night and they were already racking up likes and comments. Aubrey had commented that she missed them all on a photo of them that a waiter had taken. Beca added 'Miss you too Posen' to the photo and plugged her phone in to charge, deciding she was too tired to look at them all right now.

The next day when she woke up Sheila and her dad had already gone to church, so Beca did some laundry, then decided she'd try to help out by doing a little cleaning around the place. Her phone rang around lunchtime, and to her surprise it was Jesse.

"Hey nerd," he said.

"Hey weirdo," she replied. "How goes the homestead?"

"My little brother and his charming friend thinks it's cute to call me a fag because I sing acappella," Jesse said. "So it kind of blows. I'm not really home much, a couple of my high school friends are around so we're trying to keep busy."

"Your little brother sounds like a dick," Beca said honestly.

"He kind of is," Jesse agreed. "I streamed your show online the other day. You put some new mixes on the playlist, they sound good."

"Thanks."

"Working on anything new?" Beca outlined a couple of the new things she was working on to him, realising just how much better they were as friends. She had definitely made the right decision.

"So what else have you got planned for the summer?" Jesse asked. "Are you drinking nothing but Red Bull and working on music?"

"No," Beca said. "Coffee. Not Red Bull. And I think I've kind of landed in a weekly lunch date with Stacie, which is cool. I've decided to try and narrow down a major at some point over the summer as well. Oh, and last night I went out for dinner with the Bellas."

"Look at you miss social butterfly," Jesse teased. "Where have your walls gone?"

"Shut up," she said. "I like those girls. Even Aubrey."

"She's in Florida now?"

"Yeah, she is. And Chloe started her new job too. I'm crashing at Chloe's after my overnights a few days a week. It's safer than trying to drive all the way home at four in the morning," Beca said. "Because I'm staying with my dad over summer."

"Ouch. With the step-monster?"

"I tried Jesse, I did. But she just doesn't like me," Beca said. "And I'm so clearly adorable, so whatever. She was out of town all week anyway. You need to hurry up and come back to Barden."

"Well if Nick doesn't cut it soon I might come back early," Jesse said. "It makes him sound so uneducated. He probably knows gay kids. There's probably a gay kid on his football team."

"Ignorance is bliss, Jess."

"No, it's not. That's a stupid saying. Unawareness might be bliss, ignorance is just dumb."

"And now we've gotten all philosophical," Beca said.

"We should probably kill the convo before we do something stupid like solve world hunger."

"Good idea. But I'll call you later in the week or something."

"Sure," Jesse said. "See ya." Beca was listening to music with her headphones on and vacuuming when Sheila and her dad got home. She tugged them down when she saw them, and when she was done she caught up with them while her dad and Sheila cooked dinner. They ate together and she and her dad talked while Sheila barely acknowledged anything Beca said. At one point her father looked at her almost apologetically, but she shook her head and smiled to indicate that she didn't care. And she didn't really care what Sheila thought about her, she was just glad she and her dad were getting along for once. After dinner she went back to her room with a cup of coffee and worked on some mixes.

The next week went by fairly similarly to the first. She had lunch with Stacie on Tuesday, which was filled with discussions about majors and which ones would ultimately help her with her desire to break into the music industry. Stacie was actually quite knowledgeable about the courses offered at Barden, and Beca was almost ashamed that she'd given college such little consideration. Stacie promised to email her some stuff to read that would hopefully help her make up her mind. They also decided that lunch should be a weekly thing, because Stacie admitted that she loved Cynthia Rose and Amy, but there didn't seem to be downtime with them, it was all crazy. Stacie admitted that she loved a good party, loved sex and whatever, but hanging out with them every day was exhausting.

Wednesday night she went back to work, and then to Chloe's, where the redhead had left her a post it saying she'd bought more Pop-Tarts for her. Beca smiled and when she went back to work left her own note, explaining that during the day she'd ducked out and gotten some more coffee beans and that she'd talk to her soon.

Beca had kept all the notes Chloe had written her, for reasons she didn't really know. Firstly, the redhead had adorable handwriting. Big and loopy, and it looked like she was even perky and bubbly as she wrote. Secondly, every single note had some kind of little scribble drawn on it; a sun wearing sunglasses, music notes, hearts, and one had Beca (she assumed) wearing headphones. It seemed a shame to just throw them out when Chloe had clearly put a little effort in.

She spoke to Chloe on the Thursday before she left for work, because Amy had texted Chloe to relay plans what she was now calling Slosh Saturday. Clearly the Australian had plans for getting properly wasted. She confirmed to Chloe that she'd go, and texted Amy to let her know. Then she spent the afternoon mixing before she went back to the station.

On her way back to Chloe's the next morning, she was diverted from her normal route by a traffic accident and ended up driving past a bakery that was already open. She pulled over on a whim and was greeted by the unparalleled smell of baking pastries and bread. The couple working there sold her a half dozen still warm croissants and some of the woman's homemade jam. She ate one as soon as she got back to the apartment, leaving the rest in the paper sack writing a note on the bag that said "Why didn't you tell me this bakery was open before?!"

Chloe dropped past the station again that night, this time with burritos and Beca was glad that she came. They chatted about nothing and almost everything at the same time. Beca told Chloe that she had been reading all the stuff Stacie had emailed her and they discussed whether it would be a good idea for Beca to change into a music related degree program. There were pros and cons, the most obvious cons being that she actually had a limited theoretical knowledge of music - just what her mother had passed on in their afternoons on the piano - and it would mean that the majority of the courses she took freshman year wouldn't count. When Chloe started to yawn, Beca sent her home, but not before Chloe managed to wrap her arms around the brunette and press a kiss to her cheek. She left Beca in the booth curiously questioning why her heart would race that little bit faster with Chloe's arms around her.

Saturday morning, Beca awoke to the smell of coffee again. She smiled groggily and took the cup, telling Chloe to be careful because she was becoming accustomed to being a kept woman. This elicited a chuckle from the redhead who stated that she kind of enjoyed having a part time roommate, even if they only saw each other for a brief part of Saturday.

"Weird though," Chloe said, "Because seeing stupid notes from you on croissant bags is almost the same as seeing you. I read them all in your voice. In my head. That makes me sound crazy."

"No more crazy than I already think you are, Beale," Beca said. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Beca, it's ten thirty. Of course I have."

"So if I wanted to drive back to that bakery and see what else they make, you wouldn't want to come?" she said.

"No, I'm coming. I didn't even know about that bakery, but damn those croissants were delicious. Hope you didn't mind, I took the rest to work for the girls and Jonas," she said.

"Well, let me get up and take a shower and we can go," Beca said. "And after that I should probably go see my dad before I ditch him again for the girls tonight."

"Amy's going to get wasted," Chloe, said shaking her head, "She told me."

"Well, she pretty much does that everywhere," Beca said. "I might have one, maybe two. Cabs?"

"Yeah, Jessica and Stacie are coming here first, the others are going to Cynthia and Denise's," Chloe said. "You should meet up with us here."

"I will," Beca said. She drained her coffee cup and went to move the sheet that was covering her. Chloe balked. "Relax, Beale, I'm wearing pants this time." She got up and revealed that she was wearing tiny grey sleeping shorts.

"Just barely," Chloe muttered. "Go shower." Beca rolled her eyes and headed for the bathroom.


	13. Chapter 13

It was a given that when they all went to The Broken Chandelier, they took cabs. Even Beca, who only very rarely partook in their crazy drinking shenanigans, because she normally did end up having a beer or two since the carding policy was almost nonexistent. So Beca was in the backseat of a cab between Chloe and Stacie with Ashley in the front, still feeling a little fuzzy from her weird sleep schedule. The doorman at the bar waved them all in, throwing Stacie a wink, and the girls made a beeline for the bar. Beca and Jessica went to find some tables for them to sit at.

When they returned, Chloe had a vodka tonic in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, which she handed to Beca. They all settled into their chairs and caught up on what they'd been doing during the week. It didn't take long for Stacie to catch the eye of some of the male patrons, one of whom asked her to dance if she could rustle up a friend for his wingman. Jessica volunteered upon seeing the said wingman, and then Cynthia Rose and Denise joined them.

It was hard not to get caught up in the music. The band playing that night were good, really good even, and it made the atmosphere all the more intense. Beca accepted a beer from Ashley a little later into the night, and even danced with the girls a little. She was careful to keep an eye on the girls – some of them were definitely taking advantage of the easy-flowing alcohol. She spotted Stacie and Chloe going shot for shot with Amy, which was never a good idea. Amy had the capacity to drink all of them under the table. She grabbed her second beer a little before midnight, and was pulled into a conversation she wasn't entirely interested in with a guy who basically stared at her boobs for four and a half minutes.

She was mercifully saved by Chloe, once she had finished her beer and the guy and tried unsuccessfully to ask her to dance. Well, she assumed that's what he wanted, because he more or less slurred that they should 'work it on the floor' which was literally almost the worst line she'd ever heard. But Chloe appeared, and Beca could already tell she was on her way to drunk.

"Come dance with me DJ," she said. "I feel like I've barely talked to you all night."

"Well, let's be honest, how much talking are we going to be doing with all this noise?" Beca asked, trademark smirk in place.

"Shut up and dance with me, Mitchell." Beca left her empty beer bottle on the bar with the drunk guy and was pulled into the throng of dancing people by Chloe. Most of the girls were on the floor, dancing alongside them, so Beca decided she may as well. The band kicked in with a high energy song, and Beca lost herself in the music. She felt a hand on her hip and stiffened slightly, until she turned her head and saw that it was just Chloe.

She kept dancing, and soon felt the redhead's other hand on her opposite hip. She was vaguely aware of the fact that her heart rate had increased, and it went up again when she was aware just how close Chloe was dancing behind her. Chloe leaned in toward her and whispered, "Just go with it. Your friend from the bar is trying to cut in. Unless you want to hit that."

"God no," Beca said. So Chloe danced a little closer and Beca tried to shut her mind off because it was saying things to her that she wasn't interested in listening to right now. Weirdly, her mind switched to Jesse for a moment. He'd taught her about every movie cliché ever invented during her movie-cation. And one of them was a feeling of electricity between the love interests. She only thought of it, because the feeling between her and Chloe was definitely akin to electricity. At least, she felt like it was. Something alive and hot running across her skin as Chloe brushed against her.

"Hey DJ," Chloe said into her ear. That was completely not fair, because the proximity of Chloe's mouth to her ear and the tone in which she was speaking only served to make the hair on the back of her neck stand up and a shiver to race down her spine. "I need some air. Getting lightheaded." Beca spotted an opening and grabbed Chloe's hand, pulling her out of the crowd and toward the exit. The bouncer stamped a smear of an indistinguishable navy blue on their wrists and jerked his thumb.

"Alley," he said. "She alright?"

"Just grabbing some air," Beca said. "She's fine."

"Get her some water," he said. "And maybe cut her off." Beca waved a hand at him.

"Oh please, I'm barely drunk," Chloe said to Beca as she stumbled into the alley. She almost tripped over some debris and Beca had to catch her.

"Yeah you're a real picture of co-ordination and grace, Beale," Beca teased. "Let's just get some air, then we'll go in." She leaned against the cool brick. It was a welcome temperature change from inside.

"Are you glad we came out tonight?" Chloe said. "I am."

"I'm sure you are," Beca said. "I saw you doing shots with Amy. You gonna remember this in the morning?"

"Remember what, specifically?" Chloe asked, a little lilt in her voice. "Shots with Amy? Stacie and Jessica hooking up with those hot air force dudes?"

"Any of it," Beca said.

"Oh, I know what you're referring to," she said. "You want to know if I'm going to remember being all over you on the dancefloor. Well, that really depends."

"On what?" Beca asked, confused. Chloe took a step toward her, her hands back on Beca's hips. She leaned in a little, and Beca could swear she was not ready for this but she couldn't move, couldn't speak.

"Beca! Chloe!" Beca's head snapped toward the street as Amy's voice rang out. Chloe wasn't moving, but her head turned toward the street, as well. It wasn't Amy who rounded the corner first but Stacie. She saw how close they were standing and waved the other Bellas away.

"They're fine," she almost barked at them. "Just catching air." She managed to stop the other Bellas from seeing them, but just before she followed them, she shot Beca a look – one that said they would be talking about this later.

"Well that's going to be interesting to explain," Beca said. Chloe stepped away and smiled up at the sky.

"So don't explain it," she said. "Come on, I need water."

"I don't think I'd be able to explain it if I tried," Beca mumbled, but followed her back inside. She was thankful it was too loud to think let alone talk, so Stacie wouldn't be asking any questions she couldn't answer. She got caught up on the dancefloor, this time with Amy and Lilly. She caught a glimpse of Chloe and Jessica talking at the bar – Chloe had her water now – and the redhead flashed her a smile that made her feel like she was standing right behind her again.

"Dammit," she said under her breath. She shook her head as she turned back toward the girls and tried to think of anything else.

Their night ended in the early hours of the morning with Jessica, Ashley and Beca crashing at Chloe's house. Beca was the least inebriated of the group so she set the other girls up with some aspirin and water in the spare room while Chloe washed up. She was pulling a blanket from Chloe's hall closet when she came back out.

"What are you doing?" Chloe asked.

"Um, crashing on your couch?" Beca asked. Chloe took the blanket from her and stuffed it back in the closet.

"Don't be ridiculous Beca. You can share with me." Beca couldn't come up with a valid reason to turn the girl down, so she followed the redhead back to her room.

She'd been in Chloe's room before, just after she moved in. But now that Chloe had been in the apartment for a little while, it's even more like her. There were photos of Chloe and Aubrey wedged into the mirror, the Bellas and even Beca herself. She changed into the shorts and tank Chloe tossed her, and crawled into bed next to Chloe.

"Don't worry," Chloe said. "I don't snore." Beca smiled, even though it wasn't the snoring she was worried about – it was the lying in bed next to a girl who probably would have kissed her in an alleyway had the Bellas not displayed amazingly bad timing a few hours ago

"Night Chloe."

"Night DJ," she said. Chloe was asleep almost straight away – probably because of all the shots – but Beca was awake for at least an hour. She was having a furious debate in her mind about Chloe.

Because, clearly she was attracted to the girl. If Jesse had taught her anything, it's that you can't fake chemistry. It's either there, or it's not. And she could swear that she and Chloe were not like normal friends. She wasn't the same with Stacie or Amy or Cynthia Rose. Not with anyone. She sighed and tried to get some sleep.

The next morning, Beca awoke earlier than she normally would. As she slipped out of her sleepy daze, she realized that she was basically wrapped around Chloe. Not the other way around – she was the one spooning the redhead, arm wrapped firmly around her waist. She had a faceful of Chloe's hair, and their legs were tangled together. Chloe was clutching her arm close. Beca had no idea when that had happened. She tried to move back, but Chloe just held on tighter, pressed back into her embrace a little more.

"Mmm," she mumbled. "Too early. Stay." Beca smiled into the red hair, despite her initial unease. Morning Chloe was adorable. And if she was being honest, she kind of liked how this felt. She was comfortable. She felt Chloe stir beside her. The redhead rolled over, and she opened her eyes.

"Morning," she said more coherently.

"Hey," Beca replied. "How's the hangover?"

"I'm not that bad," Chloe said. "Nothing some aspirin and black coffee won't fix."

"Want me to put coffee on?"

"Not yet," Chloe said. "You know, you're a great snuggle partner. I never would have picked it." Beca felt herself blush.

"Sorry about that," Beca said. "Unintentional."

"Yeah, coz I totally minded," Chloe said. She stretched out a little. "Have the other girls gotten up yet, you think?"

"I haven't heard anything," Beca replied. "But it's probably early. And normal people don't skip hangovers like you do."

"You're right," Chloe said. "If Aubrey were here she'd be dragging me to the gym."

"Well, I'll never be dragging you to the gym," Beca clarified. "But I will make you coffee and bagels."

"Deal," Chloe said. Beca got out of bed and fixed her hair out of her face. She headed for the kitchen but heard Chloe get up after her and head for the bathroom. When she appeared in the kitchen, Beca could hardly believe this was the same girl who downed a ton of alcohol the night before. She shook her head.

"What?" Chloe asked, pulling out the bagels.

"Nothing," Beca said.

"Spit it out, DJ," Chloe said. "Or I'll hold these bagels hostage."

"It's just wrong that I drank two beers last night and you drank a hell of a lot more than that, and I look like this, but you look like that."

"Like what, exactly?"

"Like you. All fresh faced and gorgeous," Beca said casually. She froze momentarily when she realized she'd said 'gorgeous', thankful she was facing the opposite direction. But she also missed the way Chloe turned red and smiled. They prepared their breakfast silently and avoided the morning sun for a change, deciding to eat on the couch, facing each other and trying to remember the most entertaining events of the previous night.


	14. Chapter 14

Beca knew going into her Tuesday lunch with Stacie that they would inevitably end up talking about the weekend. She spent a lot of Sunday afternoon and a whole chunk of Monday trying to figure out exactly what was going on between her and Chloe. And being as neurotic as she was, she did it without actually consulting Chloe. So when she slid into what was rapidly becoming their booth at the burger place they'd been meeting at weekly, she still didn't really have an answer for Stacie. Stacie admittedly lasted a good eight or nine minutes before she brought the subject up.

"So," she said casually. "Don't think we're not going to talk about you and Chloe at some point." She waited Beca out as she fidgeted her way through a third of her milkshake.

"What about me and Chloe?" she said, knowing full well that Stacie wasn't going to buy into that at all.

"Beca Mitchell, do not even pretend you don't know what I'm talking about," Stacie replied. "You should be thanking your lucky stars it was me who came around that corner first and not Amy. If she hadn't turned the other direction, that moment would have gone a whole different way. So spill. What's going on there?"

"Honestly?" Beca said. She didn't see the harm in opening up to Stacie. She felt like they were close, and clearly she could keep things to herself since she hadn't said anything about the alley to anyone. "I don't really know what that is just yet. And I know that sounds like a cop out, but it's true."

"To be defined? Is that on your part or her part?"

"Well, I can't really talk for Chloe," Beca said. "But there's a lot to think about there. For me."

"Do you like her, though?" she said. Beca could feel word vomit coming on. She reined it in and waited a few moments before she answered.

"I do," she admitted. "Except there's a but."

"But what?"

"But she's my best friend and the last time I did something like this with one of my best friends, Jesse and I didn't talk for nearly two months," Beca said. "And I would not be able to handle not having Chloe if things went south. She's really important to me."

"But Jesse and Chloe are completely different," Stacie reasoned. "You might find the things that were missing with him were there with her."

"But why risk that? I mean, sure Jesse and Chloe are different, but I'm still me," she said. It was the word vomit. "Yeah, Chloe takes an interest in the little things that make me happy, where Jesse kinda dropped the ball. And she has this way of getting me to open up without making me feel pressured or like I owe her anything. And when I don't feel like talking, she's fine with just hanging out. But I'm the same person. I'm still really closed off. I still use sarcasm and insults to protect myself. I still freak the hell out when people get to close, literally and figuratively. I would still suck as a girlfriend." Stacie sat back, looking as if she was weighing up a response.

"I don't know about that last part," Stacie said. "And also, you and Chloe are definitely close – in both senses of the word. For god sakes, Beca, she was definitely like a split second away from kissing you." Beca flashed back to that moment again. At the time she had felt like she was frozen in place, but she sort of maybe felt like that it wasn't that she couldn't move, but that she didn't want to. She wanted to kiss her.

"And you might think you're all these bad things, Beca," the other girl continued, "But think about how far you've come. And then there's the obvious."

"The obvious what?" Stacie rolled her eyes.

"You might be sarcastic. Or snarky. And closed off. Whatever you like to think of yourself. But even if you are all those things, and I'm not saying you are, she's still in. She hasn't gone anywhere. So clearly she thinks that there's more to you than you do."

"Well then," Beca said after a while. "Aren't you a deep woman, Stacie Conrad?" The waitress delivered their lunch to them.

"Oh, I know relationships," Stacie said. "As long as they're not mine. But think about it Beca. Because from where I was standing, you were both pretty into it. And you guys had some serious sexual tension on that dance floor."

"Excuse me?"

"Just before you guys bailed to go outside. The dancing. Chloe being all up in your ass," Stacie said. "It was hot." Beca could feel herself blushing as she turned her attention to the food in front of her. As they ate, they talked about other stuff, about school and music. But by the time Beca was at home, she was thinking about Chloe again. So she called the one person who always managed to make her life make sense.

"Hey mom," she said. "How are you?"

"Good honey," her mom replied. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I can't just call and tell my mom I love her?" Beca said.

"You normally call on Mondays and Thursdays," her mom said. "It's Tuesday. Something's on your mind. Music, male, or female?" Her mom knew her so well.

"Female," Beca said. "It's iffy though. Coz it's Chloe."

"Ah, I had a feeling this would come up eventually," her mother said.

"What?"

"You should hear the way you talk about her, Bec. I take it you've realized you like her and now you're at the point where worried about screwing up the friendship?"

"Mom, get out of my brain," Beca laughed. "Yeah. It's just – this isn't how I wanted us to be. I was happy having her as a friend, all this other stuff kind of snuck up on me. And I totaled it with Jesse, we're only just approaching something resembling normal now. And Chloe is like, the best friend I've ever had so it's just really god damn inconvenient to have these sorts of feelings toward her."

"And how do you feel exactly?" her mother pried gently.

"Well… I like her. _Like_ her. I mean, you've seen her photos and stuff on Facebook. She's gorgeous. But it's not even that. Since I met her, she's been the only person besides you who never wanted anything from me other than whatever I had. Or was. She doesn't push me or pressure me when I'm being a moody bitch. But she somehow manages to get me to be completely comfortable and talking. About myself, mom. And without expecting me to, or demanding anything, she makes me want to be a better person."

"She's a saint then?" her mother chuckled. "Some kind of miracle worker? Is she Jesus?"

"I just feel like we've moved past that friends stage. It feels like – I don't know. How would you explain being really really close to someone without all the carnal sex stuff?"

"An emotional connection?"

"Yes!" Beca said. "We have that. For sure."

"Do you think she feels the same way you do?"

"Maybe," Beca said. "There are a whole bunch of things that have happened that would make me say yes."

"Then I'm going to quote one of your younger generation's better songwriters. Gamble everything for love."

"Really mom? Ben Lee?"

"Yep," she said. "Look, all I know is, every time I hear you talk about this girl you sound happy. And I want you happy, above all. So take a chance. And come home to visit soon. I miss that pretty little face."

"I'll come visit in a couple of weeks," Beca promised. "And thanks for making so much sense."

"That's what I do, honey. It's what I do. Love you."

"Love you, too." She hung up and felt a little clearer about how she felt about Chloe. She still hadn't decided what to do with those feelings though. And she knew that it was fear holding her back. There weren't many people in her life that she could admit being afraid to. Her mom. Chloe, which wasn't really helpful. And before everything went to hell, Jesse. If it hadn't been for Jesse she probably wouldn't be applying stupid formulaic movie clichés to how she felt about Chloe. She groaned and threw herself on her bed. Almost immediately, her phone rang in her hand. She answered it, face still pressed in her pillow.

"Hello?"

"Beca? Where are you? You sound like you're being suffocated."

"Jesse?"

"Duh. Caller ID is a thing."

"Shut up loser, I wasn't looking at the screen, I was laying on my pillow," Beca said. "Were your ears burning?"

"No, why?" he said.

"I was just thinking about you," Beca said. "You and your goddamn movies. I find myself thinking about all the stupid lame shit that people say or feel in movies, and I blame you."

"The moviecation stuck, didn't it?" he teased. "You like it, I know you do."

"Whatever weirdo. So is there a reason you called? Or you just live to torment me, is that it?"

"I'm coming back to Barden," Jesse said. "My brother is too much of a dick. And I don't know, I miss you and Benji, and the Trebles. I'm a loser, I didn't even last halfway through summer."

"Get your ass back here then," Beca said. "You can come hang out with me while I'm on night shift if you like."

"How goes my favorite DJ?"

"OK. Working on a few things. When will you be back?"

"Friday," he said. "Promised mom I'd handle a few more days. Wanna have breakfast Saturday?"

"Sure, if it can be brunch," Beca said. "By the time I finish and lock up and whatever it's normally about four thirty when I get to Chloe's, so I'm awake sort of ten-ish."

"Ah yes, Chloe's," Jesse said. "How is everyone's favorite redhead?"

"She's fine. Misses Aubrey a ton," Beca said. "But she really loves her job and we've hung out with the Bellas at least once each weekend."

"They're going to turn you into an alcoholic college student, just like the rest of us," Jesse joked.

"Nope," Beca said. "We went out to the Broken Chandelier on Saturday and everyone got wasted, but I had two beers. Trust me, I had enough issues trying to figure out what happened that night regardless of how much alcohol I'd drunk." She paused. Jesse would not want to hear about this. Not about how her and Chloe were maybe a little bit all over each other.

"What happened?" Jesse asked.

"Dude I don't know if you want to hear about this," she said. "Considering our previous relationship."

"Oh, Beca got some?" he laughed. "No, it's okay. At some point we're going to see other people. Who was he?" Beca only just realized that Jesse didn't even know that she was into girls as much as boys.

"She," Beca clarified.

"Wait, what?"

"She," Beca repeated. "I swing both ways, Jesse. And it's a she."

"Huh," he said. "You know, that's hot." He said it teasingly, knowing it would get a rise out of the DJ.

"Screw you, Swanson."

"No, whatever," he said. "Seriously, who is she?"

"I don't know, Jesse, it might make things weird."

"What? Is it Cynthia Rose?" Figures he would go for the only lesbian he knew.

"No," she said. "Her and Denise got back together. Jess- it's Chloe." She waited through a marathon length pause.

"Oh."


	15. Chapter 15

If Beca was being honest, this was one of the more awkward silences she'd ever been a part of in her life. A little less, maybe, than the time she told her dad and Sheila she was bisexual – by bringing her girlfriend home. And definitely less awkward than the silence between her and Levi after they'd had sex – he barely lasted two minutes and Beca had been incredibly underwhelmed by the entire experience. But this, this moment was definitely awkward, for her at least. Because Jesse had only still said 'Oh' and Beca could be sure if he was even still there.

"Jesse?"

"Chloe as in Chloe Beale?" he asked. To Beca's relief he didn't sound angry or upset. Just… surprised.

"Yeah," Beca said.

"Since when has that been a thing?"

"It's still not officially a thing, or even unofficially a thing. It's a maybe I don't really know if it's ever going to be a thing. But Jesse, I swear to God, this wasn't even a precursor to a thought while we together. Not in the slightest. It just sort of crept up on me."

"I wouldn't have thought that anyway," Jesse replied. "Just – you know. Bit weird. Because I didn't even know you were into girls, and then all of a sudden you're into Chloe. But I guess it makes sense. So what happened on the weekend?"

"Dude, are you sure you want to hear about this?" she said. He sighed.

"Look, Beca. You were right. We are definitely way better as friends than we ever were as a couple. And eventually we're going to see other people. It's my job to be your wingman. Or your lesbro. Bi-bro? Something. So hit me with the sexy details."

"Swanson! You're killing me here, man."

"Sorry," he said. "Just teasing you."

"God damn," she said. "It's just that we've been spending heaps of time together lately. And while we were out this weekend, we were dancing and there was this creeper dude who was kind of annoying me – harmless, just kind of a douche – Chloe kind of stepped in so he couldn't get all over me, you know, dancing up on me a bit. And that doesn't really sound like a thing, except when we were outside getting some air, she kind of backed me into a wall and was leaning in to… you know."

"What did you do?"

"Well, I wasn't leaning away, that much I know for sure," Beca said. "But Stacie came around the corner and kind of killed the moment. And she swears blind that if she hadn't seen us, it would have happened."

"Do any of the other Bellas know about this?"

"Nope. Thank god it was Stacie who saw us and not Amy or Cynthia Rose. Could you imagine what would have happened if it had been Amy?"

"That would have been interesting to say the least," Jesse said, laughing. "I can't wait to come back to Barden and hang out with you guys again. Since Bumper's gone I guess Trebles and Bellas don't have to be so cut-throat."

"Except for when we kick your ass all over the stage," Beca said.

"Dream on, short stack," he replied. "Ugh. I gotta go. I'll call you when I get back and we'll make plans."

"Sure thing," Beca said. "Catch you later, weirdo." She hung up. The fact that her mother and two of her friends saw how a future her-and-Chloe thing made sense was making her want to figure out for sure what was going on between them. Sure she still had reservations, but it was Chloe, and Beca was feeling like it might be worth it. She decided to see if Chloe was free for dinner.

_Hey Chlo, I know it's short notice but do you have dinner plans?_

She only had to wait for a few minutes before she got a typical Chloe response.

_Not unless you count sweatpants, Thai and Amy Poehler. xo_

Beca rolled her eyes. Chloe was a freak for half hour comedies. Parks & Rec was her favorite, but she pretty much owned every season of Scrubs, Friends, The Office, 30 Rock, Hot in Cleveland, Cougar Town and everything else under the sun, and she'd still watch them as reruns on TV any chance she got.

_Well if you can tear yourself away from Amy Poehler do you want to grab something with me? When was the last time we ate pizza together?_

_Hey you're right. Mario's at 7:30? xo_

_Sure thing. See you then._

_It's a date DJ. xo_

She was glad Chloe had suggested Mario's. It was one of their frequent haunts, and there wasn't going to be any pressure to dress up or weird ambience from a semi-romantic place. Mario's was relaxed, pretty quiet, and mostly occupied by youngish people.

Beca got there first, and was greeted by a woman who showed her to a booth in back. It was only a few minutes before Chloe showed up. She stood up as the redhead approached, allowing herself to be hugged by the redhead like they hadn't seen each other a few days ago.

They ordered a supreme, half with no pineapple because Chloe thought that fruit did not belong on her pizza, and as they waited they caught up about their respective few days.

"So, how is Stacie?" Chloe asked, playing with the straw in her Coke.

"She's good," Beca said. "Tanned. We have a good time together. She says that hanging out with Amy and Cynthia Rose can get a bit much. Apparently there's no in between with them, it's all on or all off."

"I believe that," Chloe agreed. "As outgoing as I am, I cannot keep up with those two." They continued chatting until their pizza came out, and then turned their attention momentarily to the cheesy goodness in front of them. The first couple of slices disappeared in silence.

"So," Chloe said after a moment, "Not that I don't love seeing you, but is there any particular reason why you wanted to catch up tonight?"

"There kind of is," Beca admitted. She thought she'd be more nervous than this. "It's kind of about Saturday night. And how this conversation goes really depends on how much you remember." Chloe looked down at the table, a faint pink spreading across her cheeks.

"I remember everything about that night," Chloe said softly. "I assume you're referring to the alley."

"Amongst other things, yeah," Beca said. "But to me that just feels like the last in a line of things that make me wonder about the direction our friendship is headed." Chloe put her half done slice down.

"Can we walk?" Chloe said. "I'm not avoiding the conversation, I just… can we walk and talk?"

"Yeah, of course," Beca said. They got up and paid the check, and they walked aimlessly toward the park.

"So, uh, I almost kissed you," Chloe said. "And I would have, if Stacie hadn't come round the corner. And honestly, it's not the first time I've wanted to, Kiss you. I guess we need to talk about this properly, huh?"

"I talked to my mom," Beca said, "And Stacie. And this afternoon, I even talked to Jesse. Because we aren't friends, Chlo. Well, we are, but we're not. We're way too intimate, way too touchy to be friends. At least, by my standards."

"You talked to Jesse about this?" Chloe said nervously.

"Yeah. Should I not have?"

"That's kind of why I haven't really gone all in," Chloe countered. "Because I gave you a lot of specific advice about your relationship with him and I don't want anyone to think that I sabotaged your relationship for my own gain."

"I don't think that," Beca said. "I would never think that. And Jesse wouldn't either. He thinks we make sense, actually."

"That's good. Because when I gave you all that advice, I just wanted you to be happy, Beca. Even if that was with Jesse. It's only about seeing you smile." Chloe was still nervous. Beca reached out and took her hand, squeezing it softly.

"Hey," she said. "You don't have to be nervous, Chlo. It's just me."

"I know," she said, not relinquishing the hand. "But you feel like a game-changer for me. It's been a long time since I've actually properly wanted something like... I don't know. Whatever we have." That made Beca grin.

"I've been a little hesitant as well," Beca said. "A lot of that came from the fact that you're my best friend. And Jesse and I ended less than well and it took us a while to come back from that. But if you and I were to ever… and then break up? I wouldn't come back from that. Because I need you in a way that I don't need him, or Stacie, or Amy. You're the one who knows all the secrets I don't share with anyone else. You're the only one I want to open up to." She felt Chloe's fingers slide through hers and interlace with them.

"I love being that person," Chloe said. "I feel like I'm the only person in the world who knows this version of you. The one who gets to see all sides of Beca Mitchell. And in the same way I feel like you know me in a way that even Aubrey doesn't. It's different between you and me."

"So when I say that over the past couple of weeks, I've found myself wondering whether kissing you would be as good as I think it will, what would your response be?" Beca said. This was the most nervous she'd been through the whole conversation. Chloe slowed to a stop and took both of Beca's hands.

"First, I'd ask you if this is really what you want," Chloe said. "Because more than anything I'd need you to be sure."

"And if the answer, after all my raging internal debate, was yes?" Beca brought her eyes to Chloe's. Yep. Still gorgeous.

"Then I'd tell you to kiss me already," Chloe said. "Because it's been a long time coming and it makes me wonder about the payoff."

"No pressure though," Beca said sarcastically. "I mean –" Chloe's lips on hers stopped whatever smartass comment she was planning on making, and instantly she forgot what it was.

Beca wasn't much of a reader, if she was being honest. But she knew the sorts of things people said about first kisses in books. And songs. And in Jesse's stupid movies. Shooting stars and fireworks. She felt like that was dumb. They were both hot and violent and momentary. Kissing Chloe was none of those things. It felt… lasting. And the way her heart beat in her chest was both comforting and grounding. It felt like an invading sense of _yes, this is right_ taking over her body, a radiating sense of absolute contentment. It was an all encompassing calm, but at the same time, it was the single most exhilarating thing Beca had ever done. Fireworks could kiss her ass.

So it was natural for her to unconsciously put a hand to the back of Chloe's head, fingers tangling in the red hair, and keep the girls lips on hers for a moment longer. Chloe sighed happily against Beca's lips before they pulled apart.

"Yeah," Chloe said to nobody in particular. "Yeah that's a thing." Their faces were still close, close enough that Beca was breathing Chloe in.

"So we're going to do this?" Beca asked. "Because I want us to do this."

"I really want us to do this, too," Chloe said. She smiled at Beca, bright in the dark summer night. Beca couldn't help but kiss her again, this time a little more insistently. Her arms wrapped around Chloe's neck as the kiss deepened, and she felt Chloe's arms pulling her closer by the waist.

"Why don't we go back to my place?" Chloe suggested. She realized how it sounded and clapped a hand over her mouth. "God that sounded… I didn't mean to, you know. Just to talk. Drink some coffee. And if there's more kissing that's okay. But there's more talking I still want to do." Beca laughed and Chloe smiled at the sound.

"Whatever, perve," she teased. "No, that sounds good to me. " Chloe brushed a soft kiss to her lips and tugged at her hands, back toward the car.


	16. Chapter 16

It would have been easy for them to go back to Chloe's and end up on the couch or in bed. Both of them wouldn't have denied that. But Chloe had suggested talking, and Beca agreed wholeheartedly, as they took Beca's car back to her place. As Chloe made coffee, Beca though back to everything Chloe had already said that night. One phrase kept repeating in her mind. _You feel like a game changer, for me._

It was a good phrase. Game changer. Chloe was already Beca's game changer. She'd already allowed the redhead to invade every part of her life, even the stuff she intentionally kept to herself. She was the only person who was physically and emotionally close to her, so yeah, that was a game changer.

"You look deep in thought," Chloe said. Beca shrugged.

"Maybe a little. Just thinking about what you said before."

"Which part?" Chloe slid a coffee across to Beca, and then came around and sat next to her at the counter.

"About this being a game changer," Beca said. "I was appreciating your choice of phrase."

"It's kind of the only way I could think of describing this," Chloe said. "I've made no secret about the fact that I've been with a lot of people. But mainly it was very short lived, kind of lacking, shitty not-even-qualified-as-relationships. But with you I feel like the relationship has already been happening, we were just really slow to catch on with the kissing." Beca laughed.

"We're so oblivious," she agreed. "But I feel the same. I feel like the fact that we're such good friends means we can go into this differently. Because normally the start of a relationship is about finding out stuff. But you know my stuff already."

"And you know mine."

"I worried," Beca admitted. "Because I'm still going to overthink things. And be sarcastic. And I know I'm not easy to be close to, sometimes."

"You should give yourself more credit," Chloe said. "Look at how you opened up to me. And Aubrey. And Stacie. You're more social than you think you are. Plus, I don't care if you're sarcastic, or living all up in your head. That's why I like you. You're not like other people."

"That's what Stacie said," Beca said, smiling. "She said that even if I was all the bad stuff I managed to list about myself, you still hadn't gone anywhere."

"You managed to make an entire list?"

"I might have."

"Well, I'm going to write out a list of all the awesome things you are so you can remind yourself of those instead," Chloe said. "Because there's a lot of good in you, DJ." Beca just shook her head and smiled.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"How is it you know exactly what I need to hear?"

"It's because I know you," Chloe said. Her hand moved to rest on Beca's knee. "And because I care about you." Beca took her hand and lightly rubbed her thumb in circles on the back of it.

"I guess it goes all the way back to my parents," she said. "I know, I look for all the ways things can go wrong. But you… you do that thing you do, and it's nothing, but it's everything, and all I see is that things can be right. At least when I'm with you." She leaned forward and gently kissed Chloe.

"Well, well, aren't you the secret romantic," Chloe teased. "Seriously though, you want to know what one of my favorite things about you is? That you know what your flaws are. But you're working on them, constantly. Do you think Beca from a year ago would be friends with someone like Stacie? Would she be here right now with me? Would she be living with her dad and trying to fix their relationship? You want to be a better version of yourself. And that's a really admirable thing."

Beca wasn't used to hearing people speak well of her. So hearing Chloe say these things was doing a serious number on her heart. Chloe, being Chloe, sensed that she was just a little overcome, and pulled her up and into a hug.

"Come on," Chloe said. "Let's watch something hilarious and cuddle." She kissed Beca on the cheek and they went into the living room. Beca caught sight of the clock.

"Shit, Chlo, it's late," Beca said. "Maybe I should go."

"No, stay," Chloe said. "Stay the night. Not for sex. Just, stay. I'd kinda like to hold you while we sleep."

"When you say it like that, how could I possibly say no?" Beca said. "Just let me text my dad so he knows I'm not dead." She sent the text and then allowed Chloe to snuggle into her side, wrapping her arm around her and interlacing their fingers as Chloe pressed play on Scrubs. Beca liked Scrubs. She thought Dr Cox and Jordan were kind of a riot, but tonight she was distracted by the way Chloe's fingers were tugging on hers, the way Chloe's other hand was just sitting on her thigh. She kissed the top of the red hair. Chloe craned her neck up and looked Beca in the eyes.

Beca chose not to look away, just used her free hand to tilt Chloe's face up toward hers. Their lips met and Chloe shifted so that there was less space between them. The idiotic medical staff were forgotten as they focused on each other. Lingering, tender kisses, breath mingling between them as they allowed themselves to explore each other in a new way. Tongues meshing together, fingers tracing jawlines and brushing against lips.

Beca could feel her own heart racing alongside Chloe's where the redhead was leaning against her. Chloe wasn't a quiet kisser. Not in a weird, slobbery way. Little noises, pants and moans into Beca's mouth. Beca loved it. She easily could have wasted the entire night kissing the girl in her arms. But, she realized, Chloe would have work in the morning. She reluctantly pulled away for a moment.

"As much as I want to continue," Beca said. "You have to work in the morning." Chloe wrinkled her nose.

"You're right," she sighed. She pecked Beca's lips. "Bed." They went into Chloe's room, where she tossed Beca some shorts and a shirt to sleep in. Beca looked at the bed apprehensively.

"What?" Chloe said, tying her hair back.

"We probably need to talk about… the whole sex thing at some point," Beca said. "Because god knows how long I'm going to be able to keep my hands to myself if we're sharing a bed. The only time we shared a bed before, I wrapped myself around you and we weren't even dating."

"Fire away," Chloe said. She was sitting expectantly, patting the space next to her for Beca to sit down.

"Well, you've been pretty open about the fact that you have a lot more experience with this sort of thing. And I'm woefully inexperienced for a college sophomore."

"That's nothing to be ashamed of," Chloe said.

"I've only slept with one person, and it was a disappointment to say the least. He was done in like, two minutes, and then bailed to drink beer with his buddies."

"I'm sorry your first time sucked," Chloe said. "But most first times do. Look, I'm happy to take things as slow as you need. And I promise that when we do get around to sex, I'll last at least a good six, maybe seven minutes." Beca rolled her eyes, but Chloe grabbed her hand.

"Sex can be awesome," Chloe said. "When it's done properly. And I want to show you how amazing it can be, when you're comfortable. I care about you way too much to just hump and dump, to steal a phrase from Fat Amy."

"I feel like a loser, kind of," Beca said. She could feel herself turning red.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I've never actually slept with anyone I cared about, not the way I care about you. That'll be a step we get to take together. But I'll be happy just to hold you and kiss you."

"See?" Beca said. "You and your perfect words." They lay down together, Chloe gently tangling their legs and curling into Beca's side and slinging an arm across her waist. Beca relaxed immediately, thinking she could get accustomed to this very easily.

"Night, DJ."

"Night," Beca said. "Wake me in the morning and I'll drive you to your car."

"You don't have to get up, I'll catch a cab," she said.

"No, wake me. I want to take advantage of the fact that I'm actually going to see you in the morning." She felt Chloe kiss somewhere on her shoulder as she closed her eyes.

She stirred as Chloe's alarm went off in the morning. She felt the redhead shift and they both set about disentangling from one another so Chloe could get up. The sun was already strong through Chloe's window – they had left the blinds open a bit, and Beca sat up, knowing she wouldn't get any more sleep. She heard the shower run and the unmistakable sound of Chloe humming. Beca shook her head, not understanding how she could wake up that alert. She rolled out of bed and went into the kitchen to put some coffee on.

She drank most of a cup while Chloe showered, then poured one for her when she heard the water shut off. She waited a few minutes so that Chloe had the chance to put some clothes on, not wanting to seem like a giant perve even though she'd seen it all before, and took a cup in for her.

"Good morning," she said. Chloe was wearing pants and a bra and Beca couldn't help but admire her.

"Good morning, magical coffee bringing lady," Chloe said, kissing her. "See something you like?"

"You know I do," Beca said. "Don't forget, I still know what underneath looks like, too." Chloe smiled in the mirror and pulled her shirt on.

"Remember that morning I woke you up and you had no pants on?" Chloe said. "You had a Strokes t-shirt on and some boyleg underwear. I almost died. It took all of my willpower not to pin you to the bed."

"Then that is something I'm going to file away for future reference," Beca said. "I'm going to go wash up." When she was done, Chloe was in the kitchen finishing some yogurt and bobbing her head as she danced to a song that was clearly only in her head.

"How the hell are you so cheerful in the mornings?" Beca said. "It's not right."

"I dunno," Chloe said. "I'm just in a really good mood. Sun's up. It's summertime. And last night I was making out with this super foxy brunette. We woke up together. What's not to be cheery about?" Beca rolled her eyes at the cheesiness, but she still pulled Chloe in by her waist and kissed her, tasting the vanilla of the yogurt.

"Foxy brunette, huh?" she said, her lips again closing over the redhead's, tongue swiping against her lips to reclaim the sweet taste from Chloe's mouth again.

"Uh-huh," Chloe responded against the kiss, running her hands down Beca's arms and resting on her hips. "Foxy for sure."

"Chloe Beale, you will be the end of me," Beca breathed. Chloe leaned in, just millimeters from her lips.

"Let's go. I'm going to be late for work," she said. Beca was irritated by the sudden loss of proximity.

"Tease," Beca said, following her. She drove Chloe back to her car, and the redhead allowed herself a few moments indulgence, Beca pressing her up against the car door and kissing her.

"Okay, I really have to go now," Chloe said. Beca kissed her through the window, then wandered down the street to grab something she could eat in her car on the way home. She turned the radio up and sang along to Queen as she drove, still barely believing what was happening between her and Chloe. She touched her fingers to her lips as she drove, remembered the way Chloe felt against them. She smiled and turned the radio up a fraction, hands tapping on the wheel.


	17. Chapter 17

When Beca got to Chloe's early the next morning after her shift, she wondered what the protocol was going to be. Because she wanted to crawl in next to the redhead, but didn't want to wake her. Her desire to let Chloe sleep won out and she headed quietly into the guest room. She found a note on the pillow.

_If you think I'm going to make you sleep here now that we're dating, you're crazy. Come snuggle. xox_

Beca grinned and quickly changed into shorts and a tank and padded down the hall to Chloe's room. She tried to get into bed as discreetly as possible, but the redhead immediately latched on to Beca's side, nuzzling into her neck and sighing. Beca pressed a kiss to her forehead and let sleep steal her away.

She vaguely heard the alarm waking Chloe, who had it turned off in a flash. But she was instantly asleep again, barely stirring as the redhead kissed her on the cheek before leaving. She woke later in the day, and stumbled into the kitchen to make coffee. The coffee maker had a post it on top that just had a heart scrawled on it. Beca smiled as she pulled it off, because Chloe was her girlfriend, and every time she thought about it, which was a lot, she grinned like a kid at Christmas.

She made coffee, and was just about to take it outside when her phone rang. She saw the caller ID and answered it. "Aubrey?"

"Beca, hope I didn't wake you," she said. "I'm on lunch and I really wanted to talk to you."

"Sure. How are you?"

"I'm pretty good. Work's hard but great. It's hot and sticky, and for the most part everyone's really nice. But it's not Barden, and I do miss you guys. "

"Aw. Posen. I miss you too."

"Anyway, I rang to talk about Chloe," Aubrey said. "Obviously, she told me that you guys are dating now. About goddamn time, I say. You two had the worst toners for each other."

"How did everyone know this but us?" Beca said.

"I really have no idea how you guys let it get so far," Aubrey said. "That's not the point. The point is, Beca, if you hurt my best friend, I will end you."

"I sincerely believe that you would follow through on that threat," Beca said. "But you don't need to worry, because I have no intention of hurting Chloe. Because we're dating now, but we're also friends. And she means a lot to me, same as she does to you. I wouldn't hurt her."

"Good," Aubrey said. "And just quietly, I gave her the same speech. You two are a good match." Beca was a little touched that Aubrey would get super protective of her, as well as Chloe.

"Also, don't forget it's Chloe's birthday on the 12th of August," Aubrey said. "I'm trying to get home for the weekend."

"That'd be cool. I'll talk to Stacie and we'll organize something. Hey, does Chloe know you're trying to get out here?"

"I haven't said anything yet," Aubrey said.

"Don't. Keep it a surprise."

"She'll kill both of us," Aubrey warned.

"Worth it. Just imagine the look on her face," Beca said. "I'll keep in touch with plans."

"Ok," Aubrey said. "Take care of each other."

"Will do, Aubrey." They hung up. Beca finished her coffee and took a shower. She decided to go grab something to eat and strode outside into the summer sun. It was roasting hot, and she was glad Chloe had talked her into buying more shorts, because back home in Portland she still tended to wear jeans throughout summer. She walked for a while, just enjoying the sun, stopping to eat at a café she had driven past a few times.

On her way back to Chloe's place, she ducked into a florist on a whim and bought flowers. She took them home and arranged them in a vase, leaving a post it with her own heart scrawled on it. She had a little time to work on a few mixes before she had to go back to work. She sat down at the dining table with her headphones on, when she noticed her phone flashing at her. She tugged the headphones back off.

"Stacie?" she said. "What's up?"

"What's up is a very interesting conversation I just had with Aubrey," she said. "Beca, I can't believe you didn't tell me you and Chloe are together now!"

"Well, to be fair, I haven't actually told anyone. Chloe told Aubrey, obviously. I haven't told anyone, not Jesse or my parents. But yeah, we're together."

"You realize I'm going to need greater detail than 'we're together', don't you?" Stacie said. "Come on, Mitchell."

"It's not some crazy romantic story, Stace," Beca said. "We went to dinner and I kind of just told her that I thought we were more than friends. We went for a walk, talked it out, kissed and went back to her place."

"Shit, that was fast!" Stacie exclaimed.

"We didn't sleep together," Beca said. "More talking. And more kissing. But yes, we are dating now."

"And you're happy?"

"Yes, I really am," Beca replied.

"Awww, that's great, Beca. I'm really happy for you guys."

"Thanks. Look, how many people has Aubrey called?"

"I think just me," Stacie said. "She called to talk to me about Chloe's birthday. She hasn't mentioned if she's talked to anyone else."

"Can you do me a favor and sit on this for a day or two? I kind of want to tell my folks, and maybe Jesse, before it gets out there."

"Sure," Stacie said. "Not like I'm really going to see anyone between now and the weekend. Do you have plans?"

"Jesse's coming back on Friday and we're meeting up Saturday," Beca said. "If I hear of anything I'll let you know."

"You better take that girl on a proper date," Stacie said. "Do this thing right, you know?"

"What are you my love coach?" Beca laughed. "Look, things with Jesse were a little awkward, but there's none of that with me and Chloe. I'm pretty confident I know how to make her happy. And that was not a sexual reference. Mind out of the gutter, Conrad."

"Alright, alright. I'll talk to you later, we'll plan Chloe's birthday." She hung up and Beca shook her head. Stacie was good value, even if her mind was constantly focused on sex. She wondered how long she would have to tell her parents before it started to get around, and decided that she should probably get on top of that. She called her mother first.

"Hey baby girl," her mother answered. "How are you?"

"I'm really good," Beca said. "Just killing time before I have to go into work. You?"

"Can't complain. Got more students than I know what to do with. It's a nice problem to have." Her mother was a singing teacher, and Beca had grown up hearing all manner of singers in her house.

"Any standouts?"

"There are a few," she said. "One who really wants it though. He puts in all the work, the others are kind of coasting on their natural skill. And you know what I say."

"Natural works but work improves on nature," Beca repeated. "I know."

"Hey, I meant to tell you, remember Bentley?" Beca did remember Bentley. He was a guy who owned a diner near where she had grown up. He was pretty cool, constantly pumped Motown through the radio and educated Beca on all kinds of musical things on afternoons when she would sit and drink milkshakes by the window until her mother finished work.

"Yeah, of course," Beca said.

"He had to sell the diner," her mom said. "He's getting on and couldn't keep up with it any more."

"That sucks," Beca said. "I'll try and see him when I come home. I called to update you, by the way."

"The Chloe situation?" her mother said.

"The Chloe is now my girlfriend situation," Beca said.

"That's good to hear. I'm glad you're happy, Bec. She sounds like a hell of a girl. Maybe you should bring her home to meet your mother," she said.

"You two would get along like a house on fire," Beca said. "But she's just started a new job so I'd have to float it past her. But I'll ask. I'm sure she'd love to come and pry embarrassing childhood stories from you."

"Well, those I've got," her mother said. "I gotta go. But I love you, hear me?"

"I love you too, mom. I'll call you in a few days." Beca hung up and went back to her mixes before she had to leave for work. She got to the station just as the newest intern was leaving, with a giant coffee in one hand and a deli sandwich in the other.

"Hey Beca," he said.

"Hey Evan. How was the afternoon?"

"I stacked CDs," he said. "So, you know, thrilling. Luke left a note for you to call him. It's on the desk."

"Thanks man. And don't get too frustrated with the CD stacking. It won't last forever," she said. She locked herself in as he left and noted she had a bit of time before she was due to take over. She checked the desk for Luke's note.

_Beca – Give me a call tomorrow, around lunchtime. Had some interest in a few of your tracks. Luke._

Beca couldn't wipe the smile off her face. She settled into the booth and cued up enough tracks to get her started, and relaxed. She introduced her spot and got started, and then let herself get lost in the music she had in front of her. She started with a couple of songs most people would know, then added in one of her own. Luke knew she dropped her own mixes in, and he said he was cool with it. She was surprised to learn that Luke dropped them in fairly often, but obviously it was going to pay off. Her phone lit up on the desk.

_They're beautiful. Thank you. xox_

Beca smiled.

_Beautiful people should have beautiful things. I'll see you in the morning._

The rest of the night went uneventfully. She got struck by inspiration at about two am, and grabbed a notepad and pencil so she could map out some things on paper for a mix. She couldn't mix at work, she got too distracted.

When she finally got back to Chloe's, she changed quickly and slid into bed. The redhead stirred, but Beca gently curved against her body, spooning her, and wrapped her arm around her. She felt Chloe sigh sleepily, fingers brushing against Beca's arm. As Beca relaxed and drifted into slumber, she smiled into the red hair in front of her, inhaling the unmistakable scent Chloe seemed to carry around with her. She could get used to this.

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

The next day, Beca slept in a little later than she normally would have. She woke feeling a bit sluggish and had to drink two cups of coffee back to back before she felt close to normal. It wasn't until she was in the shower that she remembered she had to call Luke about her mixes. She finished her shower quickly and dialed the station to speak to Luke.

"Becky," he said in that teasing drawl.

"God damn you," she said. "You know I hate it when you call me that."

"You say you hate it, but I feel like you love it a little bit," he said. "Anyway, enough of that. So, we received a phone call from Walt, he owns The Garage. He's been hearing some mixes he likes on WBUJ and called to find out the source."

"And what did you tell him?"

"Am I an idiot? I told him they were mine!" he laughed. "Kidding. I told him about you, and he would like very much to speak with you at your earliest convenience about doing some sets on weekends."

"Are you serious?!"

"No, I rather thought this would be a good prank," he said sarcastically. "At first I was like, hang on, Becky DJs for me on Friday nights, but it turns out that your friend Jesse is back in town – he called me, so if you and Walt get some sort of agreement nailed down, Jesse said he'd take some of the slack."

"Luke, thank you," she said. "For letting me play my stuff and talking me up and whatever. I owe you."

"Well, when you become a huge star, you just remember who got you started," he said. "Let me give you Walt's number, he's waiting for your call." He gave her the relevant number and they disconnected, Beca's heart thumping out of her chest with excitement. She dialed the number.

"Hi, my name is Beca Mitchell. Walt is expecting a call from me," she said to the woman who answered.

"Please hold," the voice said, and another person picked up.

"Beca Mitchell?" the deep voice came.

"Yes," she said. "Luke Hetherington said I should give you a call."

"Ah, yes. Look, I'll make it brief. I've heard a lot of your stuff coming through WBUJ lately, and I like it," he said.

"Thank you," she replied.

"I'd really like to meet with you and talk about the possibility of doing the lead in shift on a Friday and Saturday night," he continued. "Our current lead in is, frankly, depressing as hell. Are you free tomorrow?"

"Sure," Beca said. "I finish overnight at 4:00 am, so if you want me coherent, I'd say at least 11:00."

"Oh god, let's try at least 2pm," he said. "Would you be willing to bring some more samples of your work?"

"Absolutely," she replied. "I look forward to the meeting."

"See you then." Beca hung up the phone and stared at it for a second. Then she picked it back up and texted Chloe.

_Guess who just got an interview to DJ weekends at The Garage?_

Beca was expecting a text back, with emoticons and all caps, in true Chloe fashion, but instead her phone rang.

"Beca! Oh my god, that's so exciting!" Chloe squealed into the phone.

"I know," she said. "Luke told me this guy was interested and he wants to see me tomorrow and hear some more of my stuff."

"I'm so proud of you," Chloe said. "You're amazing, Beca. You deserve this. And he'll love you."

"I hope so," she said.

"So, miss famous DJ, can I swing past WBUJ this evening for our standing dinner date, or will there be too many groupies?" she teased.

"I'll give your name to the guy out front," Beca teased back. "What is it again? Carly?" They both laughed.

"I gotta go," Chloe said. "But congratulations again. I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah, tonight," Beca said, hanging up.

Beca was in a great mood for the rest of the day after that. She found herself back at the station before long, with Evan again, cueing up music for her shift. When Evan left and she locked herself in, she spoke her quick intro and started her night, then sat back to think about the interview the next day.

She didn't get too carried away, just tried to narrow down what her best mixes were to show Walt. Between choosing tracks and running the show, she didn't realize how late it had gotten until she got a text from Chloe.

_Let me in? xo_

Beca grinned and went to unlock the door for her girlfriend, who was carrying a paper bag with their dinner inside. Chloe wrapped her up in a tight hug, and then kissed her.

"That was because I'm super proud of you," she said. Then she kissed her again, longer this time, with a faint hint of tongue that left Beca a little light-headed.

"And that one?" she breathed.

"Well, that one is because I missed you," she said, heading for the booth. Beca could only follow, pulling a chair up beside her so Chloe could sit down. "And as a celebratory dinner, I brought your favorite."

"You brought me burritos and Dr Pepper?" Beca asked. Chloe raised an eyebrow and reached into the sack, pulling out two Mega Death burritos and a Dr Pepper.

"You know me so well," Beca said. "But you don't really do the Mega Death." It was laden with enough extras that even most guys wouldn't go near it – Chloe wondered how Beca could eat them regularly and still be tiny.

"No, I got chicken tacos," Chloe said. "I'm pretty sure if it wasn't for you, Jesse, Stacie and Amy, that place wouldn't even sell the Mega Death any more. That thing is toxic."

"Toxic? I think you mean delicious," Beca said, picking up one of the burritos. They chatted as they ate dinner, and then Chloe moved to Beca's lap for a while as the brunette cued up songs, one hand on the controls of the desk, and the other arm around her waist. Chloe slung one arm around Beca's shoulders and the fingertips of the other hand brushed along her arm as she watched her girlfriend work. She had no idea that even the slight touch of her fingers was driving Beca crazy, until she saw how hard she was biting down on her lip.

"You okay?" Chloe asked, concerned. Beca nodded, but kept her lip firmly trapped between her teeth. "You sure?" The younger woman stopped her moving fingertips with her own hand and interlaced their fingers. Chloe looked down at her and realized that she was blushing faintly. Beca pulled her in and kissed her, softly at first, until Chloe had the presence of mind to shift so she was straddling the brunette's lap in the chair.

Beca's hands slid up her legs and settled on her hips, squeezing gently as their lips met again, Chloe tangling her hands in Beca's hair. The redhead felt Beca's hands slide up her back and under her shirt, the short nails lightly scraping along her back as the kiss deepened. Chloe exhaled noisily as the hands brushed over her ribs, making her squirm a little, and she felt Beca grin against her mouth.

"Ticklish?" she mumbled into the kiss.

"Maybe it's just the way you touch me," Chloe said back, relishing the fact that the brunette took it as an open invitation to continue. Their kisses were deep and hot, and this time it was Chloe who stopped them before they got too far.

"Becs, you've still got a full shift almost," she said. "And I don't want to distract you."

"You're always a distraction," Beca said. "A really hot, really welcome distraction."

"Yeah, but this is your job," Chloe continued. "Plus if we don't stop now, I might not stop at all, and I wasn't really thinking our first time should be in the booth at WBUJ. It's going to be so much better than this." Beca smiled and pecked her lips.

"I know you're right," she said. "I just really enjoy doing that. Because I can."

"Oh, me too," Chloe said. "But it's getting late, so I'll leave you to it. I'll see you in the morning." She stood up, reluctantly, and Beca followed her so she could lock the door behind her. Chloe pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I'll see you later," she said.

"Yeah," Beca said. She locked the door and watched her go, then returned to the booth where she tried to concentrate on the remaining hours of her shift. She was mostly successful, but slipped into the occasional daydream about the redhead sitting on her lap. When she finally signed off, she barely remembered driving back to Chloe's, just the feeling of the redhead wrapping an arm around her after she snuck into bed, and the murmur of something unintelligible into her hair as she fell asleep.

The next morning, Beca woke up and stumbled into the kitchen to find Chloe drinking coffee and reading. When she saw the brunette, she stifled a giggle. "You are adorable in the mornings."

"Not adorable," Beca huffed sleepily. Chloe got up and poured her a cup of coffee, waiting until the brunette had taken a sip before she kissed her softly.

"Definitely adorable, sorry," Chloe said. "You're all tousled and grumpy. Not a morning person, are you?" Beca just drank her coffee quietly.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Eleven-ten," Chloe said. "Your phone rang earlier, it was Jesse."

"What did he have to say?" Beca asked.

"He wanted to know if you wanted to hang out or something," Chloe said. "I told him about your interview this afternoon, he said to call him after if you want to hang out."

"Well, I was hoping that I might be able to spend tonight with my girlfriend, since we've been passing ships in the night the past few days," Beca said. "I can catch up with Jesse later."

"I think that sounds perfect," Chloe said. "Now, do you need to go home before this interview? Like, what are you planning on wearing?"

"I hadn't even thought of that," Beca said. "Shit, all I have here is tiny shorts and a vast collection of t-shirts and tanks."

"Relax, you can borrow something of mine," Chloe said. "We'll find you something that looks respectable but still cool." She dragged Beca into the bedroom while she dug through her closet. Random pieces of clothing came flying out of it, Beca just watching amusedly from the safety of the bed as she finished her coffee and ate a pop tart.

"Ahhh," Chloe said. She came out holding a pair of drop crotch pants.

"Bieber pants?"

"No, not Bieber pants. Trust me, this'll look hot. Now, what tees have you got?" Beca just pointed to her bag, and Chloe spent a few minutes going through the selection, and then back into her closet.

"Is this is what it's like to live in your world?" Beca teased. "I would have just picked up some clean jeans and been done with it."

"How often am I gonna get the chance to play dress up with you?" Chloe asked. She tossed the pants to Beca, and one of the tees from her bag. "You, go shower, then we'll finish up here." Beca drained her cup and saluted, ducking into the bathroom.

When she had the pants and tee on, Chloe looked at her critically. "Almost." She ducked back into the closet and came out with a belt, fastening it around Beca's waist. "There. You look hot."

"You do realize that I don't have to be there for like, two hours?"

"Well, I figured if we did this now, you could get your mixes together last, so you're not worrying about what you're gonna wear with three minutes til the interview," Chloe said. "Are you nervous?"

"A little," Beca said. "I've never had anyone actually ask to see my stuff before, besides you."

"Well, I love your mixes," Chloe said, taking Beca's hand. "And I know they'll love you too." Beca kissed her.

"Thanks," she said. "Now, I should do the hair thing before I sit down and get distracted, right?" Chloe nodded, and watched her girlfriend adoringly as she disappeared into the bathroom.


	19. Chapter 19

Beca was grinning excitedly, barely able to contain her happiness. Walt had loved her stuff and asked her on the spot to do the lead in shifts on Friday and Saturday nights from seven-thirty until eleven-thirty, save for a handful of dates where there were visiting DJ's booked. She got to her car and dialled Chloe straight away.

"How'd it go?" Chloe answered.

"He loved my stuff," she said. "I start next week." Chloe squealed down the line.

"That's amazing Beca. You're gonna blow them away, I know it."

"I can barely believe that just happened," she said. "I'm smiling so much my face hurts."

"Well you should bring that pretty face here because we are going to celebrate tonight," Chloe said.

"Oh you can count on that," Beca said. "Need me to pick anything up?"

"Milk if you can," Chloe said. "See you soon!"

Beca threw her phone onto the passenger seat and started the car. She was buzzing hard, amped up on the energy from the club. She'd showed Walt a bunch of her mixes and then done about twenty minutes of live mixing for him. He had smiled from start to finish, and the guys down at the bar had hollered their appreciation. He'd drawn up a contract while she met some of the bartenders and security guards, and she was already officially employed.

She pulled over at the store to get some milk, and grabbed her phone to let Jesse know she got the job. He responded as eagerly as Chloe, and Beca set up a lunch date with him for the following day, begging off dinner so she could celebrate with Chloe, which he understood. The next call was to her dad, who actually sounded more excited than she expected, which she was thankful for. She quickly drove the rest of the way back to the apartment and opened the door, only to be swept upon by her girlfriend.

Her arms wrapped around Beca, forcing the milk to become awkwardly trapped between them as she kissed her passionately. Chloe chuckled, a sound that made Beca melt, and then the older girl tugged the milk out of her hands and put it away. Beca had followed her into the kitchen, though and lightly backed her into the refrigerator door. She kissed her intently, hands fluttering to the redhead's sides and then tucking into the waistband of her shorts.

Chloe's hands dug into Beca's hair as they got lost in each other's embrace. Her teeth softly nipped at Beca's lower lip, the brunette's hot breath rushing out in a gasp. "Remind me to get a new job more often," she mumbled as Chloe's lips hit the side of her neck.

"This is just because I was right about the pants," Chloe replied teasingly. "Hot. As for celebrating, well, we're going out."

"We are?"

"Yep. Though you probably need to change, it's going to be kind of fancy," she said.

"Fancy? Oh, you do spoil me." Chloe just leaned in and kissed her again. "Though I'd rather just wear something of yours than go home again."

"I probably only have dresses," Chloe said.

"Dresses? I can do that," Beca said. Chloe raised an eyebrow. "What? I wore the Bellas skirt. And, I might add, I rocked that flight attendant look."

"Oh I remember. Fine, let's go peruse options. I wanna get you in something short and tight while I can." Beca obediently followed her girlfriend into the bedroom for the day's second round of dress up.

Chloe had booked dinner for them at an upscale restaurant in town. Beca felt marginally uncomfortable looking at the expensive décor, until they were seated in a table tucked away in a corner. Most of the restaurant was hidden from view by some bizarre metallic sculpture, so Beca's attention was drawn back to Chloe. Chloe, who looked amazing in a short blue dress and heels, and who ordered them wine, her wide and innocent looking blue eyes distracting the waiter from the fact that Beca was underage.

Beca took Chloe's hand across the table, the redhead's fingers gently playing with her thumb ring as they talked about the finer details of Beca's first gig. They barely broke eye contact to order their meals, likewise as their wine was poured. It was only when the waiter brought their meals out that they finally snapped out of their daze, Beca surrendering Chloe's hand.

The meal was excellent, and they barely spoke as they ate, not feeling the need to fill the silence. Chloe toasted Beca's new job, leaning across the table to kiss her girlfriend softly. They split a near-orgasmic ricotta and honey tart and Chloe tucked her credit card into the billfold. They hit the street, breathing in the humid summer night and content just to stroll arm in arm together. Time slipped by and Beca soon found herself softly pinning Chloe against a railing in the park and kissing her.

She was sure she'd never grow tired of kissing the redhead. It made her head spin lightly, in a pleasant manner, and every little sound from Chloe made her gut swoop. Her hands were resting on Chloe's hips, and one of Chloe's hands was tangled gently in her hair, the other on her waist. Their kisses were gentle and intimate, and for Chloe the whole world fell away. It was just the two of them, nothing else.

"Chlo?" Beca said, pulling away a little.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for tonight," she said. "It was nice to be out with you like this. And you look so beautiful." Chloe pecked her lips softly.

"It was my pleasure. You're going to be amazing at The Garage," she said. "And you don't scrub up so badly yourself." Beca had worn a simple green dress of Chloe's, and whilst Chloe adored the way Beca dressed, she had to admit it was also nice to Beca like this.

"You probably just like the fact that you've gotten to play dress up with me twice in one day," Beca teased. Chloe nodded and kissed her again, lips lingering against her own.

"Let's go home," Chloe said. "I love these heels but they're not exactly comfortable." They walked back to the car and Chloe drove them back to her place, where they changed into much more comfortable clothing and got into bed. The kissing continued and then some, but they were restrained enough not to push it too far. Chloe eventually fell asleep with Beca tucked into the crook of her neck, arm low across her waist. She could smell Beca's shampoo, all citrus and vaguely sweet, and let the smell combined with the feeling of Beca's arm around her lure her toward sleep.

Morning saw Chloe wake with her face still pressed into Beca's hair, the brunette now with her body draped across her instead of just her arm. The redhead let her arms wrap around the smaller girl's body, gently nuzzling the top of her head. She felt Beca shift, but not move away, just tightening her arms around Chloe. She stirred again.

"Morning," Beca mumbled into her chest. Chloe reached a hand up to stroke her hair. She heard her girlfriend sigh contentedly, and kissed the top of her head. "I really love laying in bed with you."

"I love it, too," she said. Beca was more alert now, and she shuffled upwards to kiss Chloe good morning.

"What time is it?" she asked. Chloe lifted her head to check out the alarm clock.

"Nine."

"I'm meeting Jesse at noon on campus," Beca said. "I should probably make a move. And I'm sure dad would like to know that I'm alive."

"I'm sure he would," Chloe said. "I'll miss you. But you're right. If you don't make a move now, I might consider holding you hostage." Beca kissed her again, fingers brushing against the side of Chloe's face.

"I gotta shower," she said. She reluctantly got up and stretched, tee barely covering the underwear she was wearing and headed toward the bathroom. She showered and dressed, leaving enough time to share a cup of coffee with Chloe on the balcony, some unhurried kisses, before she had to drive back to her dad's house.

Her dad was home, but Sheila wasn't, she was at church. She sat down with her dad and talked a little about her new job. He seemed genuinely interested as she explained what she could. The conversation soon drifted toward how much time she was spending with Chloe.

"About that," Beca said a little nervously, "I think it's only right that I tell you that Chloe's not just my friend, dad. She's my girlfriend, as of a little while ago."

"You're dating Chloe?" Beca nodded.

"Yeah. I know it's probably going to be a sore spot for Sheila," she continued, "But I don't want to turn her into some kind of secret. And I won't. I really like her dad. She's probably one of the best things that's happened to me since I got here."

"And she's good to you? Respectful, caring, thoughtful?" he asked. "I just want to get an idea of the kind of girl you're going out with."

"She's all of those things," Beca said earnestly. "She's amazing."

"And that Jesse kid? He didn't hurt you or anything, did he?"

"No, dad. Relax. He and I are just way better as friends. I'm actually having lunch with him today."

"Well, you make sure Chloe comes to the house for dinner sometime soon," he said. "And I'm glad she makes you happy, Beca. You're still spending a couple nights a week there?"

"Yeah. Just nights I'm working, and last night, well it was kinda late for me to be driving home by the time we were done with dinner and everything."

"Ok," he said. "I trust you. Just… don't give me reason not to."

"I won't. Thanks." He ruffled her hair playfully, and she rolled her eyes. Then she decided it was probably time to got and meet Jesse.

He was waiting at the Mexican place on campus with four Mega Death Burritos and two large Dr Peppers. He slid half the order toward Beca with a grin. "Good to see you, Beca."

"You too, Jess. Glad to be back?"

"God yeah. It's weird, I feel like Benji is more of a brother to me than my actual brother," he said. "How was your celebratory night out?"

"Really great," she said. "But we don't have to talk about Chloe."

"Beca," he sighed. "She's a big part of your life. Maybe the biggest, after music. And I like her. So we can talk about her. I'm okay."

"You sure?"

"We were never better than we were as bros," he said. "I'm sure. Plus, summer and a new school year, who's to say I'm not going to find a lady love of my own?" He wriggled his eyebrows.

"You're a goofball. But thanks," she said. "She makes me happy Jesse."

"I'm glad," he said. "Anyway, you need to fill me in on the station and The Garage. Luke's letting me do your shifts, so that means I won't be at your first gig."

"That's cool," Beca said, "I'm hoping there will be many more down the track."

"I'm sure there will be," he said. "Are you nervous?"

"Not right now," she said. "Give it time though. And I've got a couple of days to lock down some sets properly. I mean God knows I've got enough mixes to last three years." As Beca and Jesse ate and chatted, she realised that she really had missed him a lot, and that she was glad they were able to go back to friends, even if it had taken some time. Once the burritos were gone, they went their separate ways, Jesse to watch Starship Troopers with Benji and Beca back to her dads to work on her mixes for the weekend.

* * *


	20. Chapter 20

The day of Beca's first gig, she was more nervous than she'd ever been in her entire life. She'd woken up in a panic after dreaming that she'd managed to miss her shift, and only calmed down after checking the time on two separate clocks. Realising she wasn't going to get any more sleep, she went in to Chloe's kitchen to make coffee, seeing the note the redhead had left attached to the coffee maker.

_Relax. You're amazing, and you'll kill it tonight. xox_

She smiled as she drank her coffee and made her breakfast. In her head she'd basically planned out her playlist from start to finish, but this would be the first time she'd played an extended set for anyone, and it would be to a crowded club full of college kids. Walt had given her some VIP entry tickets on the house and as a result Chloe, Stacie, Amy and Cynthia Rose would all be there for her big debut. They'd all been happy to hear the news of her job, and so had the rest of the Bellas once they all found out. However, Chloe and the girls wouldn't get there until just before her set started, because Beca wanted to get there a little early in case there was some kind of mishap.

Chloe called on her lunchbreak to calm her down again, which she needed after working herself up over the minute possibility of a hardware failure, and the redhead was able to get her feeling confident again with only a few words. So Beca tried to relax before she started getting ready to go, each text from Chloe doing more to calm her down.

It was almost time for her set to begin and she was slightly worried that she hadn't seen any of her friends yet. She'd tested her gear and checked levels, and she felt ready, except she had really wanted to at least see her girlfriend before she began. She heard a soft beep from her control desk letting her know that the audio to the club would be switching over to her feed after the current song finished. She took a deep breath and looked out. It wasn't very full yet, but it was only seven thirty. The half full club, however, meant that she saw a comforting flash of red making it's way in. It was Chloe, with the girls, and Beca breathed a sigh of relief. They were all beaming at her, but Beca was locked on Chloe, who was mouthing _you can do this_ to her. She nodded and waited for the changeover signal.

The set seemed to fly by. Beca barely noticed that the club packed out quickly, and that the crowd seemed to be responding really well to her mixes. She periodically looked up to find Chloe, who was dancing with the others in a tight white dress that made her want to ditch the DJ platform and go dance with her girlfriend, but she managed to focus. By the end of her block the atmosphere was charged, the air was humming, and Beca felt amazing. She let the mixer transition into the half hour fill that was scheduled to allow the main DJ to set up and disconnected her few pieces of gear.

The incoming DJ nodded at her and pounded her fist like they were old friends, a smile on his face. "You're solid, little one." Beca just nodded back in response and made her way downstairs. Walt stopped her and handed her an envelope.

"Beca, that was perfect," he said. "Much better than the last guy. You're gonna do great here."

"Thanks," she said. "For the opportunity."

"That is my pleasure. Enjoy the rest of your night, I'll see you tomorrow." She left her gear in a small locker with her name on it, in a room labelled "Garage Employees" and went to find her girlfriend. It didn't take long, the redhead was waiting by the back of house door when she came out, throwing her arms around her immediately, and kissing her hard.

"Becs, that was amazing!" she said. "You were incredible. The place was going nuts for you."

"Truth," Cynthia Rose said. "You got the touch."

"Thanks," she said. "All of you guys, for being here."

"Miss the first ever set of Beca Bella?" Stacie teased. "By the way, Aubrey will flip when she hears that's what you're calling yourself." She slung an arm around Beca as well.

"So do we continue the party?" Amy said. "There are plenty of good looking people in here tonight."

"You guys can," Beca said. "I'm wiped out. I had a weird night's sleep worrying and stuff, and I gotta do it all again tomorrow." This was met by some protests.

"Seriously," Chloe said. "You guys stay. We'll meet you for brunch tomorrow. She wasn't lying about all the stress, I had to calm her down more than once today."

"Well, you nailed it, Chief," Cynthia Rose repeated. "Well done girl." Beca accepted hugs from all of them and the group separated, Chloe going with Beca to get her stuff.

"Want me to drive?" she offered.

"You haven't been drinking?"

"I wanted to be sober so I could remember everything about tonight," Chloe said. "And I made the girls promise to handle their shit because it might make you look bad." Beca pulled her in for a hug.

"Thanks," she said. "For calming me down, for everything. And for driving. I wasn't lying about being tired."

"I know," Chloe said, "You get this look about your eyes." She kissed the top of Beca's head.

"I also think I should tell you how amazing you look," Beca said. "That dress is… wow."

"I thought you might like it," Chloe giggled. "Come on, bedtime for you, sleepyhead." She helped Beca load her gear into her car and drove them back to her apartment. Beca dressed quickly but before Chloe had the chance to change, she had her pressed against the hallway wall, kissing her.

"Like I said," Beca said, "That dress." Chloe brought their lips together again and the kisses grew softer and softer until they were just holding each other, foreheads pressed together.

"Go jump into bed," she said. "I'll be there in a sec." Beca nodded and climbed into bed, tugging most of the blankets off since it was incredibly warm. Chloe slid in a moment later, and Beca curved into the shape of her body, spooning her under the sheet. Their bare legs pressed together, and Beca's hand found Chloe's thigh, stroking it softly as she got closer to sleep. She heard the redhead sigh and pressed a kiss into her hair.

The next morning, she woke with Chloe's arm tight around her waist, obviously having reversed their positions overnight. Their legs were tangled more than pressed together, and she could feel Chloe's steady breath on her neck. She would have been happy to lie there forever, if she didn't have to pee so badly. She managed to extricate herself and make her way to the bathroom, before going to put the coffee maker on. They had to meet the rest of the girls for brunch in a little under two hours, so she figured she may as well stay awake.

She made them both coffee and went back into the bedroom, where Chloe was still asleep. She didn't stay that way, though, the shifting mattress and the smell of coffee proving enough to bring her out of slumber. She rolled over and smiled sleepily, and rubbed her face before sitting up. She took the cup from Beca and kissed her softly.

"This was a good way to wake up," she said after taking a sip. "Barely dressed girlfriend and coffee." Due to the extreme heat both of them were wearing nothing but underwear and tanks, Beca not having missed the fact that Chloe's chosen underwear probably only just barely qualified as clothing.

"Good way to sleep," Beca added. She downed her coffee quickly and pulled Chloe toward her, arms wrapping around her as she finished her cup. Chloe's phone buzzed and she pulled it over as Beca began to kiss her shoulder.

"Amy's friend said we can crash his pool after brunch," she said, tossing the phone aside and falling against Beca. The brunette just moved her hair out of the way and kept kissing.

"I don't have a suit," she said. "Not here."

"You can borrow one," Chloe said. "And I promise to rub sunscreen all over you." Beca's lips moved to her neck and she let out a little moan.

"I'm sure I can be persuaded." Chloe just turned in her arms and brought their lips together. They got carried away in their heated kisses, hands wandering freely and bodies pressing together. Beca's head was swimming with every touch and every kiss. The redhead just knew how to bring her undone, with soft lips and fingertips on her skin and teasing tongue in her mouth.

"Beca," Chloe said softly into her hair. "I think we should… maybe slow down a little." Beca's lips were making their way across her collarbone.

"If you think it's best," she said.

"I just… god… don't want to rush it. For either of us." Beca pulled back, and smiled, looking into her girlfriend's eyes.

"You're incredible," Beca said. She placed a chaste kiss on Chloe's lips.

"I try," she deadpanned. "God it's hard, stopping, though."

"Oh yeah," Beca said. "But – holy shit – we have less than an hour now to get showered and dressed and meet the girls for brunch."

"I guess we got carried away," Chloe said.

"Understandable," Beca said. "I am pretty hot." Chloe just laughed and hit her with a pillow.

"Do you want to shower first?" she asked. "I'll try find you a suit to wear, I was thinking something with a really skimpy thong bottom." Beca smacked her with the pillow and got up.

"No thongs," Beca said. "Unless they're on you." Chloe just pulled her in for one last kiss before she clambered off the bed and headed toward the bathroom.


	21. Chapter 21

Beca met Stacie for lunch again the following Tuesday feeling awkward. She had something on her mind, and she didn't know how to bring it up with Chloe. Stacie was pretty much her best girl friend, so she figured it might be easier with her. In short, she had the hormones of an uncontrollable teenage boy, and she had no idea what to do next.

It didn't help that Saturday afternoon had been spent around the pool, Chloe having chosen a swimsuit that did in fact have a thong bottom, and Beca was helplessly staring at her to the point where Stacie told her to reel her tongue in.

"As if I'm to blame," Beca retorted. "Look at my girlfriend, would you?" Chloe had just winked from where she was talking to the girls. They'd had a little time before Beca had been due back at the Garage and they'd spent it entwined on the couch in a tangle of limbs. Beca knew where this was going, where she wanted it to go. But she was uncertain about the how, and that's why she needed to talk to Stacie.

"Hey," Stacie said as she sat in the booth. "Sorry I'm a little late. God, I'm starving."

"I ordered our usual," Beca said.

"Thanks," Stacie said. "So, what's new?" Beca shrugged, but she was bad at keeping things casual.

"You know," she said.

"No, I don't, but you've gone from normal to weird in like one point two seconds," she said. "Nothing's wrong with you and Chloe?"

"No," Beca said. "It's just… it's an awkward conversation, and we should wait til the food gets here, so some waiter doesn't have to hear my embarrassing rambling." Stacie held off until the bacon cheeseburgers and milkshakes had arrived.

"Okay, spill," she said, after she took a bite.

"Alright," she said. "But this is beyond embarrassing for me. It's about sex."

"You and Chloe aren't having sex?" Stacie said, surprised.

"Not yet," she said. "But it's definitely headed that way, and that's exactly where I want it to be headed. But I've never really… well, not with a girl. I'm worried that when we get there, I'm going to suck at it." She was bright red by the time she finished.

"First," Stacie said, "calm down. You don't have to be embarrassed about this stuff with me. Seriously. Second, you're gonna find it easier than you think."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm guessing you and Chloe have already fooled around some," she said, "Unless I was very much mistaken by the way you were looking at her on the weekend."

"Yeah," she said. "We have."

"So then you already know what turns her on," Stacie said. "You know what she's into. Have you had sex with a guy before?"

"One," Beca said. "It was horrible. It was over so quick and he was pretty bad."

"So you know what bad sex is, and you know what Chloe likes. You've got all the information you need to make it good for the both of you." She paused. "Like, a lot of guys are bad at foreplay. They do a little groping at the boobs but for the most part it's all pumping and that's it." Beca thought back to her own experience. Stacie was right, there'd been a fumbling at her chest, over her bra, but once he was in, it was over almost immediately.

"Huh," she said. "You're right."

"And now for the most obvious part," Stacie added. "You gotta talk to Chloe, Beca. You guys are seriously into each other. She adores you. You adore her. It's going to be less about the whole carnal sex thing, and more about the emotional stuff with you guys. It might be awkward but I guarantee you'll feel better if you do."

"I will," Beca said. "And thanks. For not making me feel like a straight up moron."

"Anytime," Stacie said. "Sex is something I know. And for what it's worth, you guys are adorable together." They lapsed into talk about Beca's major – she was actually leaning toward marketing, and then about what they were planning on getting up to for the rest of the summer.

It wasn't until Saturday that Beca actually had a chance to talk to Chloe. They'd slept next to each other on the nights Beca stayed over, and Chloe had come to the Garage on Friday, but they didn't really have any time to sit down for a serious conversation. They were sitting on the couch, Chloe's legs kicked over Beca's lap as they drank coffee and watched Parks & Rec.

"Hey Chlo," Beca said. "Can I talk to you about something?" Chloe hit mute on the television and gave her girlfriend her full attention.

"What's on your mind?" she said.

"I was talking to Stacie the other day," she said. "And she suggested I talk to you about something that's been on my mind."

"What's that?"

"Just that our relationship is getting pretty physical," she said. "Which is great. Because I adore you and you're gorgeous and kissing you… anyway. But I've been thinking a lot about what happens when we take the next step, because I want it to be good for you, and I'm really nervous about it because I don't have a lot of experience."

"You're worried?" Chloe asked softly. Her wide blue eyes were reassuring.

"I was," Beca admitted. "But Stacie suggested I talk to you. Because our relationship is really great, and when we do finally get around to sleeping together, it's going to be about furthering our relationship and what we mean to each other instead of just the physical things."

"Stacie's right," Chloe said. "I know it seems like I've got way more experience than you, but when it boils down to it, I've never really had an intimate relationship with someone I cared about like I care about you. That's a step we're going to be taking together. I want this to be good for both of us, just as much as you do."

"Man, I love you," Beca said. She didn't realize she was saying the words until they were already out there. Then she shrugged. "Yeah, I said it."

"I love you too," Chloe said softly. She pulled Beca toward her and kissed her deeply. "And just so you know, you don't have to be nervous about this, because trust me, you know exactly what works when it comes to turning me on." Beca just shifted and kissed her again. As her hands found Chloe's hair and the kiss deepened, the redhead let out a moan.

"See what I mean?" Chloe said.

"You're not mad that I talked to Stacie first?" Beca said. Chloe shook her head.

"You guys are tight. It wouldn't be any different than me calling Bree," she said. "And I call Bree a lot, because I really don't want to screw what we have up. You're really important to me, Beca. This is really important to me." Beca felt bad that she was only now just realizing that Chloe was equally as nervous as she was about their relationship. She'd had no idea – the redhead seemed to just exude confidence in every aspect of her life. She didn't really know what to say, so she just tilted Chloe's face toward hers and kissed her tenderly.

"You're really important to me, too," she said, pushing hair from her face. Their lips met again, still soft and sweet, their embrace this time not about lust but about intimacy.

The next two weeks went by in a heartbeat, Beca mixing like crazy when she had free time, still making time for Chloe and the girls. Walt was loving her sets; the patrons were apparently loving them too, requesting more of Beca Bella. She'd settled into her new job well, liked the people who worked there and enjoyed her time on the decks. Chloe came by to enjoy the music, normally on a Friday with Stacie in tow, and Beca loved nothing more than being able to look up and see her girlfriend having a good time.

With Stacie's help, she also decided to declare her major in marketing, which thrilled her dad. He was proud that Beca, who had no interest in even attending college a year ago, was declaring such a solid major, even though he said he would have been supportive if she'd declared music as well. Beca had also been busy talking to Aubrey on the phone about Chloe's upcoming birthday. They'd organized a party with the help of the Bellas, and the absolute key surprise was that Chloe had no idea Aubrey was going to be there. So she had her hands full, but she was happy.

With all of that going on, Beca's favorite part of the week was still climbing into bed and wrapping her arms around Chloe. Or waking up and seeing her there, red hair splayed across the pillow and limbs every which way on the bed. She often marveled at the bizarre sleeping positions the older girl had.

She was doing that exact thing one Saturday morning, just watching Chloe sleep and wondering how she could possibly be comfortable, when the redhead stirred and opened her eyes.

"Watching me sleep?" she mumbled. "Creepy."

"Well, I think you look beautiful, even when you're sleeping," Beca said. "With your arms everywhere and your legs taking up all the bed." Chloe realized how much of the bed she had been taking up.

"Sorry," she said. "Were you uncomfortable?"

"I don't mind at all," Beca replied. "I get to curl up against you when you're everywhere." Chloe's hand fumbled for hers and she tugged the brunette closer.

"Curl up now," she said. "It feels early."

"It is," Beca said. "I just couldn't help myself."

"Becs, you have to get proper rest," she said. "You worked late and you have to work again tonight."

"Not tonight," she said. "They have a guest DJ lined up, had him booked in way before I started. It's cool though, means I have a Saturday night free to spend with my beautiful girlfriend. And I hope you don't mind, but I was planning on taking you out."

"How could I possibly mind that?" Chloe said. She felt Beca's arms slide around her as she snuggled into her body and they lay there drowsily in the morning sun. Neither of them actually fell back asleep, they just held each other, and Beca was again struck by how perfectly at home she felt in Chloe's arms.


	22. Chapter 22

Saturday night came and Beca was leaning against Chloe's doorframe. The redhead opened the door, grinning at her, pulled her inside and kissed her quickly.

"Sorry I'm running late, I was talking to Bree on the phone. Just let me put some shoes on and I'm good to go," Chloe said. Beca had thought about doing something extravagant, but she decided in the end that she'd rather go casual and fun. Luck would have it that there was a summer carnival in town, and Chloe's eyes had lit up when she mentioned it. Beca was helpless against Chloe's charms, so that was their destination for the evening.

The carnival was about what they expected, loud noise, sugary snacks and rides that looked like they'd definitely fail a spot safety check. Chloe just held tightly to her arm and dragged her from booth to booth. She was just like a child, but Beca found her enthusiasm both amusing and charming. They ate disgustingly greasy corn dogs and sickly sweet cotton candy. They giggled their way through a hall of mirrors, and tried their hands at some sideshow games, Beca owning like a boss on the whack-a-mole. And to cap off the night, they rode the Ferris wheel and watched the fireworks explode overhead.

On the drive back, Chloe remarked more than once that she hadn't had that kind of innocent fun in years, and Beca was just glad that she'd managed to put a smile that size on her girlfriend's face. As soon as they got inside, Chloe pulled Beca toward the couch, and into a steamy kiss that indicated the innocent fun was over and a whole different kind of fun was beginning.

Chloe was straddling her lap as the kisses continued, Beca's hands stroking up and down her thighs. The redhead's hips were beginning to roll a little against Beca's, and the brunette could feel the need practically radiating from her body. She let her hands go to the buttons of Chloe's top, making quick work of them and pushing the shirt down. She let her nails rake over Chloe's torso, the older girl shuddering into the touch. Beca's tank top was next to follow, and at that point the brunette knew that she wanted Chloe, all of her, tonight.

The redhead was sucking at her neck, hips still moving and hands caressing her pale skin. Beca's head was reeling from the feeling of Chloe's hands all over her, and she shifted a little.

"Bedroom," she said, her tone of voice leaving no room to doubt what she meant. Chloe pulled back a little.

"You sure?" she said. Beca left a searing kiss on her lips.

"I'm so sure," she said. "I love you, Chlo. And I really want us to take this step." Chloe smiled at her, and got up, taking her hand.

"I want us to do this, too," she said. They went into the bedroom, slowly undressing each other between soft kisses. Chloe let her hands rest on Beca's shoulders, bringing their foreheads together.

"I love you, Beca," she said softly.

"I love you, too," Beca replied. Chloe kissed her and gently leaned her down onto the bed. It was the first time they'd been completely naked together since the incident in the showers, and Beca's skin was already heating up from the contact of Chloe's body. Their bodies fell against each other perfectly. Their hands moved slowly, learning the dip of each other's curves as their lips remained cemented together. Chloe was gently rocking atop Beca, whose hips were lifting to increase the friction. Beca's hands found Chloe's breasts, slowly massaging them, her fingers gently tweaking the nipples. Chloe moaned into her mouth and it spurred her on. She bent her head down, taking a nipple into her mouth. Her tongue swirled around the nub, her teeth gently nipping at it. Chloe gasped, her hands tugging lightly at Beca's hair, so she continued.

When she'd paid both the breasts enough attention, she took advantage of Chloe's distraction and flipped them over, straddling her. She let her hands gently smooth her hair down, looking deep into her eyes. They were wide and dark, and Beca kissed her until she was breathless. Then she let her lips move, along her jaw, down her neck, and she kept going. She let her tongue and lips wander across all of Chloe's skin, noting that she squirmed when she lightly nipped at her collarbone, that the second rib under her left breast was ticklish, and that kissing along the taut skin of her abdomen made her whimper.

Beca was making her way back up to Chloe's face, the redhead clutching her close and panting softly. "Jesus you're gorgeous," she said to her, kissing her lightly. Then she snaked her hand down, and taking a deep breath, began to gently rub circles on Chloe's sex. She was already soaking wet, and it turned her on to know that Chloe was as into this as she was. Her hips were moving in time with Beca's hand, and her nails were frantically dragging across the smaller girl's back as she let out strangled moans.

Finally, she gently pushed two fingers into her, eyes drinking in the way Chloe's eyes snapped shut and her head tilted back. She affixed her mouth to the exposed column of her neck as she began to move her fingers slowly. The older girl was making breathy sounds with every move, tucking her head into the crook of Beca's neck before long and whispering her love over and over. Beca felt her begin to tighten, and her hips were moving uncontrollably. Her thumb brushed Chloe's clit in time with her fingers, and Chloe let out a loud moan as she came, before pulling Beca's face to hers and kissing her deeply. She reversed their positions, intent on returning the favor.

Beca's entire body felt like it would burst, simply from hearing how Chloe came undone under her hands. Chloe was kissing up the inside of her thighs now and her hands were stroking across her abdomen. She felt the warm breath of her girlfriend at her apex and shivered. Then Chloe gripped her hips softly, and she felt the redhead's tongue gently touch her. Beca lost focus on everything else, all she could sense was the soft and steady strokes of Chloe's tongue, the small vibrations that were made by Chloe's moans and hums. One of her hands was fisted tightly in the sheet and the other was holding a little less tightly to Chloe's hair.

"Oh fuck, Chlo," she mumbled, as the older woman began to tongue her clit. The sensation was enough to make her eyes begin to roll back in her head, and she could feel her orgasm begin to build. Her hips began to move of their own accord, Chloe's mouth was insistent in its movements, and Beca saw stars as she went careening into climax. She had no idea when Chloe moved from her crotch to her face, but when she realized that the redhead was back at face level, she pressed several soft kisses to her lips. She pulled Chloe right in close against her body.

"That was amazing," she said, still trying to catch her breath.

"Incredible," Chloe agreed, nuzzling into her neck. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Beca said. "So much." She wrapped an arm around her, feeling their heartbeats find a rhythm and sync up. Chloe's arm reached out and grabbed for the sheet and she pulled it halfway up their bodies. They were curled close to one another, close enough that Chloe occasionally pressed her lips to Beca's foreheads as they were lured toward sleep.

Beca woke to Chloe's fingers softly stroking up and down her side. They were spooning tightly, Chloe's breath warming the back of Beca's neck. She rolled over and smiled at the redhead.

"Good morning," she said.

"Good morning," Chloe replied. She kissed her chastely. Beca's fingers gently brushed her cheek, and she nuzzled into the action. "How'd you sleep?"

"Really well," Beca said. "You?"

"Same," Chloe said. "Though I'm thinking a shower is in order, and then I'd really love to take you out for breakfast."

"That sounds good," Beca said. "I could go some bacon and eggs right now."

"And I think the shower should probably be a team effort," Chloe said. "In the name of water conservation or whatever."

"Oh, you do, do you?" Beca asked. Chloe's hands found a spot on her hip, her thumb brushing small circles on her skin.

"I definitely do," she said in a low tone. Beca smiled and kicked the sheet off. Chloe got up first, and Beca just watched for a moment, eyes following the toned and shapely form of her girlfriend. Naked girlfriend. She tucked her hands behind her head and enjoyed it a little longer until Chloe disappeared into the hall and called over her shoulder asking if she was coming. Beca had never moved so fast in her life.


	23. Chapter 23

Before Beca knew it, it was the day before Chloe's birthday. The summer had been absolutely racing by, a mix of hanging out with Chloe, Stacie, Jesse and the Bellas, working shifts at the radio station and the club, and spending as much time as she could with her girlfriend. She'd informed her father that she was ready to declare a major in marketing, and he was beyond thrilled. He'd also joined Chloe and Beca for lunch one Saturday, telling Beca afterward that he thought she was delightful and charming.

She'd also spent a lot of time on the phone with Aubrey. She was due to arrive that day, but would stay with Stacie overnight and come meet them for brunch the next day. Beca wasn't working the night of Chloe's birthday, which was a Saturday, so she had planned a party with the help of Aubrey, Stacie and Amy, who could somehow get her hands on way more alcohol than a soon to be sophomore should be able to. So she lugged her gear into The Garage, with a promise from Chloe that she'd be along a little later, and she was feeling great.

Her set amped the place up. She'd chatted with Walt on and off over the summer and the feedback was all good. He seemed to think her stuff was only improving, and that the patrons loved her. Between her and the main DJ who followed her, a seasoned pro named Otto D, they were building the reputation of The Garage into one of the premier club locations in the area. He also mentioned that he wanted to talk to her about what happened when she went back to school, and something about making sure she was taken care of in that regard.

Chloe showed up about halfway through the set, Beca's eyes immediately locking on to the short hemline of her dress, the sway of her hips. She was alone tonight, dancing and enjoying herself. When she was done, Beca met her at the bar where her girlfriend was declining the advances of a blonde surfer looking guy. She felt a twinge of jealousy when his hand rested on her arm in a manner far more familiar than he should be afforded. Chloe hadn't even seen her, but she took his hand and removed it.

"Hey buddy, I said no thank you," she said. "That's not an invitation to get hands on."

"A little touching never hurt," he said with a smile.

"It does when your hands are touching my girlfriend," Beca injected. Chloe smiled broadly and kissed her on the cheek.

"Your girlfriend?" he asked, looking between the two.

"Yeah," Beca said, stepping between him and Chloe. "And she told you no thank you, so I suggest you take your attention elsewhere."

"We got a problem, Beca?" a security guard asked. He was a huge, hulking monolith named Sam Shade.

"That depends on whether this guy can keep his hands off of my girlfriend," Beca said. "I got no problem if he backs off."

"I suggest you walk away from the DJ and her lady," the man said. The blonde was only just realizing that Beca was wearing a staff pass around her neck.

"Fine," he said. "Maybe another time." It was a bad attempt to save face, and Sam stepped in front of him, placing a hand on his chest.

"No," he said. "Not another time. And believe me, I'll know. Because you just became my favorite patron. You won't be able to shit in this club without me knowing." The guy paled and skulked away, Sam winking at Beca before she was pulled into a long kiss by the redhead.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," Beca said back. "You look incredible, as always."

"And your set was amazing, as always," she said. Gavin, the bartender, tossed Beca a bottle of water as he did after every set. "So what's the plan? Stay a little longer?" Beca finished guzzling the water and smirked.

"Well by the time we get home it'll be after midnight," she said teasingly, "which means it will technically be your birthday. And I don't know, you pretty much get to do whatever you want on your birthday." Chloe's eyebrow quirked up. Since their first time together, the sex had only gotten better. Chloe was next to insatiable, so Beca knew what was coming out of her mouth next.

"Home," she said, eyes suddenly darkening with lust. Beca grinned and let herself be eagerly tugged out of the club.

Several rounds later, Beca was standing in front of Chloe's refrigerator completely naked, grabbing the two of them water. She felt Chloe's arms slide around her waist, lips pressing to the side of her neck. Beca closed her eyes and shivered at the sensation. Then she snapped herself out of it and grabbed two bottles.

"A very good way to start my birthday," Chloe said.

"Don't get too comfortable, there's still a lot more surprises in store," Beca said. Chloe's eyes lit up. "You look just like a kid at Christmas. Just another one in a long list of reasons I love you." She left a lingering kiss on Chloe's lips.

"I love you, too," she said.

"Now, bed," Beca said. "Brunch date in the morning." Chloe loved brunch an unreasonably large amount. She fell into her familiar place, arm slung over Beca's torso and face nuzzled into her neck, Beca tangling their legs together as they fell asleep.

Stacie showed up in the morning, bringing Aubrey with her, only they made her wait in the hall. Beca said that part of her present was outside.

"Outside?" Chloe said. She opened the door to see her best friend standing there waiting. The squeal was loud enough that it was likely everyone on the floor heard.

"Aubrey?!"

"Happy birthday, Chlo." She hugged her hard. "Your girlfriend and I have been planning this for weeks."

"You better be staying here," Chloe said. "Wait where did you stay last night?"

"With Stace," Aubrey said. "I got in late. Now, I'm dying, let's eat." Beca received a hug and a kiss on the cheek from Chloe as they grabbed the things they needed. Brunch was a long and relaxed outing, the chatter dominated by Aubrey and Chloe who, even though they spoke on the phone regularly, had much to catch up on.

After the meal was finished, Beca and Stacie left Chloe and Aubrey to go shopping while they took care of setting up another part of Chloe's birthday surprise – a party at Amy's friend's place. They had the place decked out soon enough, a sound system hooked up so that Beca's mixes played without her having to stand at a booth all night, and Amy was hanging around for the caterers.

They met the two older girls back at Chloe's apartment, a reasonably large quantity of shopping bags between them. Stacie had to head back to pick up Aubrey's stuff to bring back to the apartment and get ready for the party, so she left. Aubrey declared that she needed a shower, so Beca and Chloe sat on the couch, entwined and not paying attention to whatever was on the television.

"This is such a good birthday," Chloe said, snuggling into her side.

"It's not finished yet."

"What? There can't be more," Chloe said. "You didn't do anything ridiculous did you?"

"No," Beca promised. "There's still two more presents to go. One is the party a bit later, but while we're relatively alone…" She went and grabbed her bag and pulled out a little box.

"Beca," Chloe said.

"It's not a proposal, don't worry," Beca said. "That'd be rushing things a bit, don't you think?" Chloe opened the box. It was a hammered silver band, and the redhead saw markings on it. Bringing it closer so she could see, she realized it was a microscopic musical score.

"The first time we heard each other sing, we were singing Titanium," Beca said. Sure enough, the notes were for the chorus to the song. Chloe was staring at it in fascination.

"This is so freaking cool," Chloe said. "I've never seen anything like it." She slid it onto her finger, then off because it was too big, and settled it on her thumb. Then she pulled the brunette in and planted a long kiss on her lips.

"I take it you like it," Beca said.

"I love it," Chloe said. "Thank you." Then she kissed her again, pushing her down onto the couch. Beca registered somewhere in the back of her mind that the shower had turned off, but it was pushed right to the bottom of her list of priorities as Chloe's tongue entered her mouth. They got caught up in it, hot passionate kisses, Chloe's body lightly grinding against Beca's.

"Jesus Christ," Aubrey said loudly. "I know this is your apartment Chlo, but the couch? Really?" Chloe pulled back, looking not even the tiniest bit sorry.

"Just thanking my girlfriend for the awesome ring she bought me," she said with a smile, brandishing it toward her. Aubrey inspected it and appeared to give it her approval.

"Coffee?" Aubrey offered. Chloe shook her head.

"I'm going to take a shower."

"Beca?"

"Sure," she said, causing Chloe to pout. Beca pecked a kiss on her lips. "If I get in the shower with you, firstly – Aubrey will probably kill herself because secondly - we won't be showering and thirdly - we'll end up being late for the party. So go, and I'll take a quick one once you're done." Chloe sighed dramatically but got up from the couch. Beca followed Aubrey into the kitchen.

"She's insatiable," Aubrey said. "I know, I roomed with her for four years." She set the coffeemaker going.

"So how's Florida?" Beca asked.

"Hot and humid," Aubrey said. "I swear to God, it's insane. I've taken to wearing sleeveless shirts to work and bringing a full one for court. It's too fucking sticky."

"Weather aside?"

"I love it," Aubrey confessed. "I love my job, my coworkers are pretty great, I get along with my bosses, there's nothing I'd change about it."

"That's good to hear," Beca said. "Didn't some famous dude say if you find a job you love you never work a day in your life? Actually I take that back. I love working at The Garage but I fucking work my ass off."

"That's more accurate," Aubrey said. "I love it, but it's hard work. Chloe says things are going really well at the club."

"Yeah, I'm really thankful to Luke for hooking me up," Beca said. "It's been a blast. I've learned a lot from Walt and the guy who goes after me, Otto. And it seems like people really like my stuff." They poured coffee but milled around in the kitchen.

"Chloe seems really happy, Beca," Aubrey said. "Every time I've spoken to her, and even now. She's never been this content before. You're good for her."

"Thanks," Beca said, blushing slightly. "I hope she's happy. That's my goal. And she makes me so fucking happy my face hurts from smiling sometimes. I love her, Aubrey. She's all the best things a person should be." Aubrey surprised her by putting her mug down and hugging her.

"I hope you two stay this happy," she said. "It's good to see."

"What about you?" Beca asked. "Any action in your love life down in Florida?"

"None whatsoever," Aubrey said. "Most of the time I'm too busy working. Don't get me wrong, I don't shut myself off. I've gone to dinner and drinks with the people at work, met a few people. Nobody worth mentioning."

"Nobody's even gone there?"

"One guy in my office asked me out," Aubrey admitted. "He's thirty nine, divorced and has two teenagers."

"Ouch," Beca said. "Please tell me he let it go."

"He did," Aubrey said. "But I had to mention it to my boss because the guy was working with our team at the time, and I didn't want anything weird to happen, or anything to screw my work up."

"Did anything happen?"

"No, he's been fine. It was more a 'just so you know, this happened and he's said it's all fine but I just want it noted in case something ever happens' conversation. Mr Scott never even told him I said anything," Aubrey said. "One of the other clerks, Suzie, she swears one of the guys has a thing for me, but…"

"No?"

"No," Aubrey said. "I need at least a little chemistry, or what's the point?"

"That's fair," Beca said. Chloe joined them in the kitchen a moment later, sweatpants slung low on her hips and tight tank on.

"What's going on?" she asked, stealing Beca's coffee.

"Just talking about my lack of love life," Aubrey said.

"I'm going to hit the shower," Beca said. "Stace will be here in an hour." She went and showered quickly. When she was done, both Aubrey and Chloe were in full outfit mode, meaning Beca still had time to kill before she started getting ready. She worked on a mix for a little while, until she saw Chloe strut past in full makeup and hair, no dress. That meant they had about twenty minutes until Stacie got there, so she got up and quickly did her own hair and makeup, pulling on black jeans and boots, and a top that Chloe had picked out on their shopping trip at the start of the summer. Then she checked on the others, finding Aubrey ready in the living room, and Chloe slipping into her heels. At that exact moment, the buzzer sounded.

"Taxi's running," Stacie's voice came. Aubrey answered it.

"Be right down," she said. Chloe came out, and they double checked they had all the essentials before they locked the door, Chloe leaving a kiss on Beca's lips before she slid into the cab.


	24. Chapter 24

The party had been a raging success. Chloe had wandered around with the biggest smile on her face, chatting to everyone, dancing her ass off, and enjoying spending the time with the people who meant most to her. Beca was happy she managed to make her girlfriend smile so much. They'd spent a lot of time pressed up close to one another on the dance floor, having consumed a few drinks each. At one point Beca looked up and noticed Jesse doing shots with Aubrey, Stacie and Amy, and she laughed as the Treble became the first to fall behind.

As the night wore on, guests began to leave until there were only Bellas left. They were mostly sprawled around the side of the pool area in chairs, playing stupid drinking games and listening as Amy told stories. Chloe was down at the far end of the pool, heels off and feet sitting in the water, talking to Jessica. Beca felt her leg vibrate as her phone rang.

"Hold on," Beca said, laughing as she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Beca? This is Sue Ginsberg," a voice said. Beca immediately worried. She was her mother's neighbor. She stood up and moved a few paces away.

"Is mom okay?" she asked, heart thudding. She pressed her hand over her other ear to block out the noise.

"Well, she will be," Sue said. "She had a bit of a fall. She took a spill down the back steps. The kids heard her calling out and came and got me and we brought her to the hospital."

"How bad is it?" she asked. Everyone must have noticed the change in her demeanor because they grew quiet. Aubrey went to grab Chloe.

"She broke her leg in three places," the older woman said. "And a concussion, plus some bumps and bruises. She wasn't knocked out or anything but they want to keep her a few days nonetheless."

"Okay," Beca breathed. "Um, I really shouldn't drive tonight, but I'll take the first flight out that I can find tomorrow."

"You don't have to-"

"Yeah I do. Tell her I'm coming, too. I've still got some time before school goes back, so I'll hang around."

"Okay," Sue said. "She's in Our Lady of Grace, third floor."

"Thanks Sue. I'll call you when I get in." She hung up, and her eyes immediately snapped to Chloe, who was approaching with a look of concern in her eyes. "Mom's in the hospital. She broke her leg and is a pretty beat up. I'm gonna fly out tomorrow." The redhead wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Of course," she said. "But she's gonna be okay right?"

"Sounds like it," Beca said. "Still, I need to go see her." The party was pretty much done after that. Everyone began gathering themselves together and calling for cabs. Beca and Chloe squished into the backseat of a cab with Aubrey, Stacie sitting in front, and went back to Chloe's house. Stacie announced that she'd be fine sleeping on the couch for the night, but Aubrey wouldn't hear it, so she dragged the brunette into the second bedroom after bidding the two other women good night. Chloe and Beca silently went into Chloe's room, stripped down and climbed into bed, falling into their normal positions, Beca's arm wrapped tight over Chloe's waist.

"Best birthday ever," Chloe mumbled.

"I'm glad," Beca whispered, kissing her under the ear. "I love you, Chlo."

"I love you, too," she said, turning her head to kiss her properly. They both tightened their grip on each other as they fell asleep.

Beca woke and found that Chloe wasn't in bed. But she always handled hangovers really well so it wasn't a surprise. Beca felt a light throb in her temples, nothing too bad, probably dehydration. She remembered Aubrey and Stacie had stayed the night, so she tugged on some shorts before she went out into the living room. Chloe was on the balcony on the phone, so she went into the kitchen and drank an entire bottle of water before making two cups of coffee to take outside.

"Hey," Chloe said, hanging up the phone. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine," Beca said, handing her a mug. Chloe saw straight through the lie. "Maybe it was restless. Just worried about mom. Where are the other two?"

"Still in bed," Chloe said. "So I was just on the phone to my boss and if you want, I can cash in some overtime and a couple holiday days so I can come to Portland with you for a week."

"Seriously?"

"Only if you want me to. I just have to call back and let him know." Beca put her cup down and pulled her into her arms.

"You'd do that for me?"

"Of course," Chloe said. "I know what you get like when you're stressed out. I want to be there for you and your mom."

"You are amazing, you know that right?" She kissed her, Chloe sighing as she let her arms snake around Beca's neck, deepening the kiss.

"Hey, it's a bit early for that," Aubrey said, joining them, sunglasses on. "You're up early, Beca."

"I was worried about mom," she said.

"I'm going with her to Portland for a week," Chloe said.

"I'll look for flights as soon as I get out of the shower," Beca said. "First I gotta call Walt and Luke and tell them I'm going out of town."

Both men were naturally understanding. Walt said he knew enough DJs to fill a few weeks, and Luke said he'd call Jesse to fill in while she was gone. Beca offered to call him instead, figuring she should tell him she wouldn't be around.

"Hey Jesse," she said.

"Beca? Killer party last night."

"Thanks," she said. "Listen I need a favor."

"Uh oh."

"I got a call saying my mom is in hospital," she said. "I'm headed back to Portland today, so I was hoping you'd fill in at the station til I got back."

"Of course," he said. "Is your mom okay?"

"Broke her leg and a concussion," she replied. "But she's got MS and has enough trouble getting around as it is. I just wanna make sure she's okay."

"Not a problem," he said. "Take care of her. Call me if you need anything."

"Thanks Jess," she said, hanging up. Then she took a scalding hot shower, which helped with the headache, and sat down to check out flights. There was one just after lunch and one a little later on. Beca couldn't remember what time Aubrey was due to fly out, but she thought it was later, so she went to check.

"Hey," Beca said. "What time's your flight out, Aubrey?"

"Three forty five," she replied.

"There's a flight to Portland at three ten," Beca said. "If we take that one, we'll only have to make one trip."

"Sounds fine," Chloe said.

"Okay," Beca said. "I'll book the flights." She went back inside and clicked through to buy the tickets. She realized she didn't know her credit card number so she went into the bedroom to grab it from her wallet. On her way back to the kitchen, she bumped into Stacie in the hall.

"Hey," Stacie mumbled. "I need Advil. And coffee."

"Kitchen," she said. "Follow me." Beca found her the painkillers and poured coffee. Chloe and Aubrey looked deep in conversation on the balcony, so they stayed inside, the taller woman resting her head on the cool surface of the table. Beca bought the plane tickets, and checked that the confirmation email came through. Then she looked outside at Chloe and Aubrey, heads bent close together as they talked.

"Wonder what they're talking about so seriously this early on a Sunday," Beca said. Stacie looked at the pair apprehensively.

"I think I know," she said. She pulled her hair back behind her shoulders and Beca saw a dark bruise on her neck. "Aubrey and I made out last night. A lot."

"Holy fucking shit," Beca said, after she managed to gather her jaw from the floor. "How did that happen?"

"We got back here and got into bed and we were both a little tipsy, not blackout drunk. We were just talking and Aubrey was saying how her personal life has become basically non-existent in Florida, and a woman's got needs, you know? So I kissed her, she kissed me back, and we kept on going. I had to keep reminding myself how much we'd been drinking or I would have probably tried to sleep with her. Call it too much information, but damn it was hot."

"Christ, Stacie. What are you guys going to do?"

"Well, I won't lie. Aubrey is a total babe, and she really knows what she's doing with that mouth. Plus, she's cool. But she lives in Florida," she sighed. "So I really don't know. And I'm also well aware of the reputation I have. I don't think Aubrey would consider dating the biggest slut in Barden."

"Hey!" Beca said. "Biggest slut in Barden? I've seen you with one dude all summer."

"That Air Force guy? Oh yeah. Come to think of it, there was only one other guy and I only kissed him."

"You need to talk to her," Beca said. "Don't let shit get weird. You two are friends, at the very least."

"I know," Stacie said. "I want to talk to her about it, but truth be told I'm a little worried." Beca reached a hand out.

"It's Aubrey. She's always up for talking things through," Beca said. "You'll be fine. Just tell her what you told me. You liked it, but you're worried." Stacie nodded, and both girls looked up as the door from the balcony opened.

"Hey," Aubrey said coming inside. She and Stacie looked at each other a little awkwardly.

"Um, Bree? We should probably talk," Stacie said. Aubrey nodded.

"I think that's a good idea," she agreed. There was more awkward silence, so Beca broke it.

"Okay, here's the plan," she said. "Chlo and I will go back to my dad's so I can get everything ready to fly out to Portland. We'll come back a little later and go to lunch."

"That sounds fine," Stacie said. "And after that I'll drive you guys to the airport, saves you paying for parking."

"Deal," Beca said. "So, give us ten, twenty minutes and we'll be out of your hair." They hurriedly grabbed their things and then left in a hurry.

"So Stacie obviously told you what went on last night?" Chloe asked, as they got into Beca's car. "The making out?"

"She did," Beca said. "What's Aubrey's take on it?"

"She enjoyed it, a lot. And she wouldn't mind doing it again, but-"

"She's in Florida?"

"She's in Florida," Chloe nodded.

"Stacie feels the same, but she's also a bit worried because she knows people think she's a huge slut."

"Aubrey doesn't think that."

"I know," Beca said. "I told her they should talk about it. Stacie's given me a lot of good advice this summer and mostly it's been to talk it out."

They drove to Beca's dad's house. Professor Mitchell was shocked to hear that Beca's mom was in hospital, and had no problem with Beca dropping everything to go back to Portland. He also gave her his credit card details so she wouldn't drain her savings to buy flights back. Then Beca packed a bag with enough bits and pieces to last her while she was there, and they were back on their way to Chloe's. Chloe had the good sense to text Aubrey and let her know they were on their way, lest they interrupt something. When they got back to the apartment, they heard the shower going.

"Aubrey's taking a quick shower," Stacie said. "She said she wouldn't be long." It gave Chloe enough time to pack her stuff; by the time she was done Aubrey was ready to go. They piled back into Beca's car and drove to a nearby restaurant for lunch.

"Hey Beca," Stacie said as they took their seats. "Have you checked your email today?"

"Not since I checked for the flight confirmations." Chloe and Aubrey excused themselves to use the restroom.

"Barden Housing emailed. Dorm assignments are due and they wanna know if we're ticking random. I don't really wanna tick random, I spent last year with a Mormon. Wanna share?"

"Sure," Beca said. "My last random assignment got me Kimmy Jin. What do we have to do?"

"Give me your student number and I'll email them back," she said.

"Deal," she said. "Did you talk to Aubrey?"

"Yeah," Stacie said. "We were talking and then she decided she wanted to know if the chemistry was just a drunk thing. Then she kissed me again, and let's just say alcohol had nothing to do with it. It was better sober. If you guys hadn't texted to say you were coming back you probably would have walked in on something."

"Wow," Beca said. "So..."

"We're just going to see how things go," she said. "Keep in contact, I'll try get down there when I can, she'll try get up here, nothing official just yet. Distance is weird."

"You're okay with that?"

"I'm very okay with that," Stacie said. The other girls returned, and they enjoyed a long lunch together. Afterwards they went to pick up all the bags from Chloe's place, and Stacie drove them all to the airport.

"I'll drive your car back to my place," she said. "And text me when you know your return flight details and I'll come pick you up."

"Thanks," Beca said. "And feel free to drive it while I'm gone." She walked with them to check in. Chloe and Aubrey said goodbye first, then Beca gave her a quick hug while Stacie said goodbye to Chloe. Chloe and Beca had to check in almost right away, so they let Aubrey and Stacie have a moment together, leaving them at Aubrey's check in counter.

"Did Bree fill you in?" Beca asked, lifting Chloe's bag onto the belt.

"Yeah," she said. "I think she's really into it. She doesn't talk about stuff like this very much, but I can tell she's happy."

"Stacie too," Beca said. "Let's just hope they can figure it all out." Chloe kissed her on the cheek and took her hand as they went to the boarding gate.


	25. Chapter 25

The trip to Portland was quiet and uneventful, Chloe dozing back off about an hour into the flight. Beca couldn't sleep, so she listened to music and periodically let her eyes flick over her girlfriend's sleeping form. When the captain announced their imminent descent, she gently shook her awake.

"Chlo?" she said softly. "Chlo, we're landing soon." Chloe wrinkled her nose and stretched as best she could in the cramped plane seat.

They held hands as they made their way to the carousel, each picking up their luggage and not saying a word. They hailed a cab, Beca giving the man an address and settled into the backseat. The trip wasn't too far, but the closer they got the more on edge Beca seemed to be.

"What's wrong?" Chloe asked, taking her hand.

"I dunno," Beca said. She closed her eyes for a moment. "I think... It's just that it's the first time my Portland life and my Barden life are coming together. And I don't know... Portland has always been this little bubble. On top of that its my mom, and I've already told you how I don't like-"

"You don't like people looking at you like you're to be pitied," Chloe said. "I know. I didn't tag along to come and make a huge fuss about your mom's health, although I am concerned and I want to help any way I can. I came to meet my girlfriend's mother, someone she speaks about with great affection and I'm looking forward to it." Beca let out a sigh. She didn't know how, but Chloe had just managed to ease all the tension that had built up in her since they touched down. She leaned over and left a soft kiss on her lips.

"You are far too good to me," she murmured. She felt much better for the rest of the ride.

The cab pulled up at a well kept house in a quiet, shady street. Beca thanked the cab driver and paid him. She unlocked the door and ushered Chloe in.

"So this is the house Beca Mitchell grew up in," Chloe said, looking around the living room. It felt like a home. Picture frames grouped together on the mantle showed Beca at various ages. There was a small television set in the room, but the majority of one wall was taken up with music. CDs and vinyl, an expensive looking stereo and an older but no less well maintained turntable.

"Come on," Beca said. "I'll give you the tour." She followed her through the kitchen and dining rooms, through a big room that her mom used for her music lessons. Upstairs she saw the bathroom and bedrooms, until all that was left was Beca's bedroom.

"Here it is," Beca said. She pushed the door open. Nothing had been moved since she'd left. A double bed in the corner under a couple of windows. A desk held a scattering of CDs and random cables, a few pens and scraps of paper. There were surprisingly few

pictures in the room. One of her and her mother occupied a place of honor on her bedside table. There were a few more on the wall above the desk of Beca with the same group of four other kids. And there was one giant black and white photo print of a concert, half the shot filled with the crowd and the other half showing the legs of a guitarist and various speakers. Chloe looked around interestedly. She'd always thought Beca's room would have to be dark and plastered with posters. But the walls were light, and as Beca pulled the blinds, it got only brighter.

"Somehow," she said, "it's both nothing like I expected and also feels just like you."

"Not what you expected?"

"I expected everything to be a little darker," Chloe said. "But it's unassuming and comfortable." Beca smiled at her, and pulled her in to her arms.

"Do you want to grab something to eat?" she asked, planting a kiss near the corner of her mouth.

"We can just grab something on the way to the hospital," Chloe said. "I know you must be dying to see your mom. I just need the bathroom." Beca relinquished her and waited downstairs. She found her mom's car keys on their hook by the front door.

"I just want to duck next door and check in with Mrs G," Beca said. Chloe nodded and they went next door. A middle aged woman answered, smiling when she saw who was on the other side. She gave Beca a quick hug and let them in.

"It's good to see you," she said. "How's college?"

"Great," Beca said. "Um, this is my girlfriend Chloe, Chloe, this is Mrs Ginsberg."

"Sue is fine," she said, shaking Chloe's hand. A little girl ran up and squealed, hugging Beca around the legs.

"Beca!" she proclaimed.

"Hey Stella," she said, laughing. The little girl couldn't be more than six. When she saw Chloe her eyes went wide.

"Are you Ariel?" she asked. Chloe just about melted.

"She's not Ariel," Beca said bending down. "But you know what? She sings just like her. This is my special friend Chloe."

"She's very pretty," Stella whispered. Chloe bent down.

"It's nice to meet you, Stella," she said. "I like your sparkly shoes."

"My mom got them," she said, holding a foot out. Beca stood up and Stella scampered away.

"Where are the others?"

"Bailey is playing basketball at the rec, and I don't actually know where Grady is," she frowned. "He's been a bit moody lately. But he is a teenager, so..."

"Bailey's still playing basketball?"

"Please. She's grown another foot it feels like," Sue said. "She's taller than me and she's about as tall as Darren. But it keeps her out of trouble. Been to see your mom yet?"

"We just got in," Beca said. "We're on our way."

"I spoke to her earlier, she said she's bored and can't wait to get out," Sue relayed. "But it's probably tomorrow at the earliest. I won't keep you."

"Thanks Mrs G. I just wanted to check in."

"No problem," she said. "Nice to meet you, Chloe."

"You too," the redhead said. They left and got into Beca's mom's car, and she reversed out of the driveway and headed for the hospital.

"Your neighbors are nice," Chloe said.

"The Ginsbergs? Yeah. After dad split, mom wasn't always home after school because she was working to try and keep us going, you know? I used to spend a lot of time at their place."

"Stella is adorable," Chloe said. "And she loves you."

"Stella is their foster kid," Beca said. "She was three when they took her in. But you'd never know she wasn't biologically theirs. Then there's Bailey, she's twelve, and Grady is fifteen."

"How long have you been neighbors for?"

"Forever," Beca said. "Maybe fourteen years?" The hospital wasn't much further and before they knew it they were being escorted down a hall, beca listening to the nurse who was filling her in.

"It was a hell of a break," the nurse said, "she has two pins in her leg now. We need to keep her one more day just to make sure they are properly settled in place. The concussion was minor, but we still ran a full series because of the MS. From what she described, she was a little faint and dizzy and then she woke up at the bottom of the stairs. Other than that she's got some bruises and a nice graze, but she's in good spirits."

"Thanks," Beca said. The nurse pointed to the door and the two of them walked in. Chloe hung back a step.

"Oh thank god," her mother said. "Get over here and hug me."

"Hey mom," Beca said, hugging her hard. Her leg was propped up in a pulley. She was a petite brunette, clearly Beca favored her genetics. "Mom, I want you to meet my girlfriend Chloe Beale. Chloe, this is my mom Tess."

"Come over here and hug me too," Tess said. "I've heard a lot about you, it feels like I know you already." Chloe went over and hugged her.

"So what the hell is this?" Beca asked sarcastically, gesturing to her plaster encased leg. "For Christ's sake woman."

"Well, I thought it'd be a nice way to get you back here to see me," her mother said with snark equal to her daughters. Chloe had to bite back a grin.

"Seriously mom, how are you?" Beca asked, sitting down in the chair.

"I'm okay," her mom said. "I know it sounds bizarre considering where we are right now. And yes, I did have a dizzy spell right before I fell down the stairs. But honestly, I've been pretty good. Haven't had any really bad days since last summer."

"I worry about you," Beca said. "Out here all on your own." Her mom reached out and took her hand.

"I know you do," she said. "But I'm okay. Promise. Now. When are they letting you take me home?"

"Tomorrow or the day after," Beca said. "But we'll be here til next Sunday, if you can put up with us invading your space."

"Are you kidding? I want to tell Chloe every single embarrassing story from your childhood," her mom said. Beca rolled her eyes and Chloe laughed.

"And somehow I don't even think you're joking," Beca said. "Whatever."

"Hey when you come back tomorrow can you please bring me some coffee that doesn't taste like it was brewed in somebody's shoe?" her mom said. "I almost bribed an orderly to go get me Starbucks last night."

"Jesus mom," Beca said. "You're worse than me."

"I know I am," Tess replied. "As far as I can recall you didn't drink much coffee at all until this one got in your ear." She gestured to Chloe.

"Guilty as charged," Chloe said. They chatted for a while longer, until visiting hours were up.

"We'll be back tomorrow," Beca said, hugging her mom. "If there's anything you want us to bring, just text me."

"I will," she said. "It was great to finally meet you, Chloe."

"You too, Tess," she said. They headed back to the house, stopping off to grab a pizza on the way. Chloe commandeered the remote control and found a Friends marathon, and they settled into the couch together. After they were done eating, Chloe curled into Beca's side, the brunette's arm wrapped comfortably around her. She let her fingers trail up and down her girlfriend's arm. After a while, Chloe leaned up a little to kiss the underside of her jaw. Beca capitalized on the moment and pulled Chloe to her, kissing her insistently.

"Mmm, Beca," Chloe said, pulling back for a second. "As much as kissing you is the best thing ever, I'd feel a little weird about doing anything with so many pictures of you as a kid on the wall." Beca looked up and laughed.

"Yeah, that is weird," she said. "I'm kinda beat anyway, but we should definitely move this to the bedroom. I'll just tidy up."

"I want to take a shower first," Chloe said. "Maybe you could join me." Beca had never been more motivated to clean up quickly in her life. As she was putting their glasses into the dishwasher she heard the shower turn on and hurriedly made her way up the stairs. She was stripped off in and instant and slid into the shower behind her girlfriend, hands running across the already wet skin of her back.

"That didn't take long," Chloe said, turning around. Her eyes roamed Beca's body freely. "Thank god." She pulled the smaller girl to her and kissed her hard, hand bracing against the cold tile wall in support.


	26. Chapter 26

When they got back to the hospital the next day, they brought the promised coffee and some Danishes. The doctor overseeing Beca's mother's care informed her that she wouldn't be allowing Tess to leave until the following day. She had explained that she wanted to have her do some observed work with the crutches - since her MS already made it hard for her to get around, she was still debating the possibility of putting her in a walking cast. So after they spent the morning together, Tess telling Chloe all manner of stories about a young Beca Mitchell, Tess headed off to physical therapy and the two girls headed out.

Beca wanted to pick up some groceries and things for her mom before she came home, so they went home to make a list first. As they were scoping out the pantry, she noticed movement in the Ginsberg's yard. She spotted Grady, the eldest of the children, settling down on a hammock. But he looked… uneasy.

"I'll be back in a sec," Beca said. Chloe just nodded. She made her way to the fence, and in keeping with the tradition of years of neighborly familiarity, she hopped over it, getting the attention of the boy on the other side.

"Hey," Beca said.

"Oh hey," he said. "Mom said you were here."

"Yeah, visiting my mom," she said. "How have you been, Grady?"

"You know," he said, shrugging. He seemed despondent. Beca liked Grady. They'd talk music together from time to time. He liked to hang out while she mixed and he'd play a little guitar.

"Seriously man, you okay?" Beca asked, now a little concerned. "Do you wanna come in and talk?" He looked like he was debating that in his head.

"Yeah maybe," he said. "If you promise not to tell mom or anyone what we're talking about."

"I swear dude, as long as you don't tell me you killed someone, I'll take it to the grave," she said. He followed her inside, where Chloe was just finishing a pot of coffee.

"Grady this is my girlfriend Chloe, Chlo, this is Grady, the eldest of the Ginsbergs," Beca said. "He wants to talk if you can give us a minute?"

"I'll give you guys some space, of course," she said. "You want some coffee?" She poured three cups and then kissed Beca on the cheek before disappearing upstairs. The two of them settled at the kitchen table.

"Your mom okay?" he asked, shifting hair from his eyes.

"She will be," Beca said. "She's still a smart ass and she still busted my chops in front of my girlfriend, so yeah, she's fine."

"Your girlfriend's pretty," he said.

"Yeah she is," Beca agreed. "So what's going on?"

"I dunno," he said. There was a long pause. "That's a lie."

"Whatever you got, I'm ready," she said. He stared at his hands wrapped around the mug for a moment.

"I never said anything to anyone else about this," he said. "It's… hard. Bec, I like, trust you and stuff. And I think you might know what it's like… Beca, I think I'm gay. Actually, I'm pretty freaking sure I am."

"Okay," she said, reaching her hand out. She took one of Grady's in her own. "Dude, that's okay. Clearly, there's nothing wrong with being gay. And I know that it's a scary thing to talk about, but man, I'm pretty honored that you'd tell me that."

"I knew you wouldn't be weird," he said. "That's why… But like, how am I supposed to tell my mom and dad?"

"Well, what are you worried about?" she asked. "Your mom didn't bat an eyelid when I introduced her to Chloe yesterday."

"I just don't want them to treat me different," he said. "I'm still me, but… And what's everyone at school going to say?"

"Well, the people who are worth a damn won't say anything," Beca said. "But you'll have assholes. Everyone has assholes. Look, objectively, your parents are kind of awesome. As long as I've known them they've never said anything the least bit homophobic. They're not going to care, trust me. Well, they'll care, but they won't think it's bad. They'll care about you, because they love you."

"Look, I know you're here to take care of your mom," he said. "But if I tell them before you leave, like maybe tomorrow, will you be there with me?"

"Of course," she said. "I swear. So, if you don't mind my asking…"

"I'm at that age where all my friends start talking about girls really graphically, you know? Short skirts, big boobs, that sort of thing. And I mean, I can tell when a girl is pretty, but looking at them just feels… aesthetic. Like, looking at a girl doesn't make me feel any different than looking at a beach, or a puppy."

"But boys?"

"Just a boy," he said. "We play football together. He's the wide receiver. We're friends, we have some classes together. And I kinda just wanna be near him all the time. Is that weird?"

"Nah," Beca said. "Not weird. How do you think I knew I was in love with Chloe?"

"How long have you guys been together?"

"Like three months," Beca said. "Not long, but it was serious before it even started, you know? Everyone pretty much says we've been a couple all year, we were just too oblivious to realize it at the time."

"I thought you had a boyfriend?"

"I did," Beca said. "But that was a disaster. We're friends now. We should have stayed friends all along."

"So are you gay or what?"

"I dunno," she said sitting back. "I guess technically I'd be bi, but to be honest, I kind of just feel like Beca who loves Chloe, and that's all that feels important to me. And if you think you're gay or bi or maybe you aren't even sure, you don't have to give yourself a label."

"So what do I do?"

"That's for you to decide. I mean, I'm sure your parents would wanna know. And they love you man. But you're not obligated to tell anyone else if you don't want to. That shit can be tough in high school."

"One of the teachers runs a PFLAG," he said. "My civics teacher. I don't think, you know, I'd wanna go or anything, but I'd maybe tell her. Just so someone knows, you know?"

"That's a good idea," Beca said. "She's alright?"

"Yeah a lot of people like her. She's pretty young, she isn't like, a dick or anything."

"And I'll give you my email and cell, if you wanna talk, you can totally call me," Beca said. "I don't mind."

"Thanks," he said. His hands were shaking a little bit. "I feel a lot better just saying it out loud. And I know you made your girlfriend bail, but if you don't like keeping secrets from her, I don't mind if she knows. I mean, who's she gonna tell?" He took a drink of his coffee.

"I'm glad you feel better," Beca said. "It's a pretty scary thing. But you're not alone, Grady." Chloe reappeared at the door.

"Everything okay in here?" she asked.

"Yeah," Grady said. "I'm gonna go, though. I should probably mow the lawn before mom gets on my case. I'll come over tomorrow, Bec, if that's okay?"

"That's fine," Beca said. "Whenever suits you. Mom should be coming home tomorrow, but I'll be here til the end of the week."

"Sweet," he said. "Nice to meet you, Chloe."

"You too," she replied, and they watched the younger boy go back into the yard and hop back over the fence. "He okay?"

"He just told me he's gay," Beca said. "First time he's told anybody, so pretty big deal for him."

"Ah. So he's a little worried about his family, and then he's worried about school, and that probably explains why his mom thinks he's been out of sorts lately," Chloe said. Beca got up and put the mugs in the sink.

"Exactly," Beca said. "He also asked if I could be with him when he tells his parents, for moral support."

"What do you think his folks are going to say?"

"Well, everything I know about them suggests they're going to be fine," Beca said. "They've never hinted at having a problem with me, ever. So they'll be concerned because high school can be rough on gay kids, but they won't be upset." Chloe kissed her, then pointed to the notepad on the counter.

"I think we've got a good list," Chloe said. "By the time we go and pick everything up, visiting hours should be back on." Beca nodded and leaned into her, just settling against her warm body. This was one of her favorite things about Chloe, she didn't mind if Beca just wanted to be touching her, as a matter of fact, she encouraged it.

They headed to the supermarket, and spent a little time slowly walking through the aisles, picking out what they needed. Beca paid for the lot and they took it all back home, unpacking it into the house.

"I know your mom says she doesn't need anything, but is there something we can take her that'll make her less bored?" Chloe asked.

"I'll take her iPod," Beca said. "She can at least listen to music. And more coffee. She'll appreciate that. May as well take dinner too. We can stop at the diner."

"I've heard things about this diner," Chloe said.

"I worked there summers, and sometimes sat in there of an afternoon to do my homework," Beca said. "And talked music with the old guy who owns it. Taught me everything about Motown and Soul. He sold it just recently." They got a few things together and stopped off at the diner to pick up three burger and fries specials. Her mother practically cheered at the sight of the food, making grabby hands at the bag.

"So what's the verdict?" Beca asked as she handed her a burger and fries. "About the cast."

"We think a walking cast might be easier," Tess said. "They're going to put it on in the morning, and I'll be allowed to come home in the afternoon."

"Good," Beca said. "Chlo and I went shopping and picked up groceries."

"Thanks," Tess said. "God knows when I'd be able to get back out."

"We'll go again before we go back to Barden," Beca promised. "We also brought you your iPod since you were bitching about how bored you are."

"Yeah, I am," Tess said. "I do appreciate it, girls." They hung around and kept her company until the nursing staff kicked them out, before going back home and curling up in bed.

The next day, Beca called her mom at the hospital to find out what time she was being discharged. It was supposed to be just after lunch, so they spent the morning giving the house a bit of a clean so her mother wouldn't have to do it. They went and picked up an eager to get home Tess as soon as they were allowed, a new walking cast fitted to her leg. The doctor gave her clear instruction to come back in two weeks to make sure the pins hadn't moved, which Tess agreed to, she just wanted to get out of the hospital.

Beca and Chloe brought her home, Chloe carrying her bag in while Beca helped her mother up the steps and into the house. They settled her into the oversized recliner with pillows propping her leg up, the relaxation already evident. Chloe had offered tea or coffee, putting a pot on just as Grady jumped the back fence. He knocked on the back door, Chloe opening it and telling him to come in. The teen looked exceedingly nervous.

"Beca's in with her mom," Chloe said. "I'm making coffee, if you want some."

"Nah," he said. "I'm kind of jumpy enough right now." Chloe smiled sympathetically.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Chloe said. "Go on through." He went in to the living room.

"Hey," he said. "You okay Mrs Bennett?"

"Grady. I've told you before, Tess is fine."

"You know my mom would kill me if I ever called you Tess," he said with a grin. "Sorry." Tess dismissed it with a wave.

"Is this about what we talked about yesterday?" Beca asked. He nodded, struck again with nerves.

"Yeah," he said. "If you're not busy."

"Whatever it is, go," Tess said. "I'm sure Chloe wouldn't mind entertaining me for a little while. Plus I still have to tell her every embarrassing story from Beca's childhood."

"Okay," Beca said. "You good? Deep breaths." He began to breathe a little deeper.

"Let's do it," he said. "Quickly, before I lose my nerve." They left through the back door, and Tess looked after them curiously as Chloe returned with coffee.

"Do you know what that's about?" she asked the redhead.

"I do," Chloe said. "But it's not my place to say anything." She handed Tess a mug.

"Is this about Grady being gay?" Chloe almost spat her coffee out.

"What?"

"Please," Tess said. "I have a gay kid. Plus, Grady and Beca have been close for years. If he were straight, he'd have spent years mooning after her, staring at her boobs or trying to hit on her. He's never done any of that."

"He's telling his mom and dad," Chloe said. "Beca is going for moral support."

"The Ginsbergs are going to be fine about it," Tess said. "They're good people. But it's nice that Beca is going with him."

"Of course she is," Chloe said. "She's that kind of girl." Tess watched her appraisingly.

"Can I ask you a personal question, Chloe?" she said.

"Sure."

"How long have you been in love with Beca?" There was a silence as Chloe measured her response.

"A long time," she admitted.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what took you so long?" Tess said. "Jesse?"

"At first it was Jesse," Chloe confirmed. "I'm not the kind of girl who breaks another couple up. And I like Jesse. They worked really well as friends."

"But not a couple," her mother said. "I could tell, when Beca called me. She always sounded either confused or frustrated. What about when they broke up?"

"I had to let Beca make the first move," Chloe said. "Because what you said about her and Jesse, I agreed. And I did give her relationship advice. I didn't say, you know, break up with him or anything. But I said that sometimes a great friendship doesn't mean a great relationship. I didn't want anyone to look at the way Beca and Jesse ended and think that it was me orchestrating the whole thing."

"So you waited on her because you didn't want people to think you'd gotten in between them?" Tess said.

"Yeah," Chloe said. "I was happy to wait. Beca processes her stuff internally. Me, I just get on the phone and blurt it out to Aubrey and it's done. Beca is a stewer. She'll ponder on something for a long time. But it was definitely worth the wait."

"She'll kill me for saying this, but she's very taken with you," Tess said. "She's spoken of you a lot this year and I know she's felt strongly about you for a while. Probably a lot longer than she realized. So it is serious, though?"

"I love her," Chloe said softly. "She is so not who I envisioned myself needing, but I do need her. She's this tiny little ball of contradictions and surprises, and there is nothing in there that I don't completely adore." Tess smiled.

"I like you, Chloe," she said. "You're my kind of person." Chloe smiled back and settled in to the couch as Tess began to tell a story involving a six year old Beca, a fireplace and a Voltron action figure.


	27. Chapter 27

Beca ended up staying over at the Ginsbergs for almost two hours. When she returned, it was to inform them that Grady's parents were of course understanding and supportive of his being gay. Sue had confessed that she had known something was wrong, but if she had known what it was, she wouldn't have been so worried. There had been tears, but the Ginsbergs were going to be just fine.

Beca hopped the fence back to her place and walked in to the living room to find Chloe laughing as her mom told some kind of story that likely featured an embarrassing Beca-related element. "Somehow, something about this scene unsettles me," she said.

"Everything okay over there?" her mom asked.

"She figured it out," Chloe said. "She has great gaydar."

"It was more the boob thing," Tess interjected.

"The what thing?" Beca asked, as she settled back into the couch, pulling Chloe's arm around her shoulders and tangling their fingers together.

"Grady is a teenage boy," her mom said. "You're a teenage girl who plays guitar and has a massive rack. He never once checked you out."

"Mom, do me a favor and never speak of my rack again," Beca said solemnly.

"Hey, sweetie, own it," her mom said. "I got no idea where it came from, you should count yourself lucky."

"I think you'll find I'm the lucky one in that arrangement," Chloe said.

"Oh my god!" Beca exclaimed, turning bright red. "Chloe!" Chloe and Tess were laughing uproariously.

"Sorry babe," Chloe said. "Too easy to get a reaction with you."

"I hate you both," she said, still mortified. Chloe leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"You love us," she teased.

"Yeah, lucky for you guys," she said, rolling her eyes. She noticed her mother yawning. "You tired, mom?"

"Yeah," Tess said. "I think a nap might be a good idea."

"Do you need a hand getting upstairs?" Beca asked.

"I think I'll be fine," she said. "Don't let me sleep through dinner though, I want to try and get back to some kind of normality."

"Sure," Beca said. "We might just go for a walk before we start cooking." Her mom got up and made her way up the stairs, Beca hovering just behind in case she tripped, but the walking cast was actually quite well balanced. She went and got jackets for the both of them, passing Chloe hers before they left.

The redhead slipped her hand into Beca's as they reached the end of the drive, and they silently walked down the shady streets around Beca's house. As they neared the bottom of a small hill, Chloe spoke. "It's gorgeous and quiet here."

"It wasn't such a bad place to grow up, honestly," Beca said.

"It feels like you," Chloe said. Beca raised an eyebrow. "That sounds crazy. But it's quiet and there's more to it than people think. Plus it's crazy gorgeous."

"Ever the smooth talker," Beca said, nudging her with a hip. "Tomorrow I'll take you out and show you some of the sights." They stopped for a moment at a small dog park. There was a couple walking a pair of corgis on the other side and they watched for a moment, leaning against a railing. Chloe's hand rested on the back of Beca's neck for a moment, then ran down her spine before settling on her hip. Beca turned her face toward Chloe.

"I love you, Chlo," she said. Chloe turned and met her lips in a kiss.

"I love you too," she said. "Come on. I want to get started on dinner. Does your mom eat lamb?"

They strolled back to the house, and Chloe went into the kitchen to start preparing dinner while Beca went to check on her mom. Tess was still sleeping, so Beca woke her and told her they were starting dinner if she wanted to take a bath. Then she headed downstairs.

Chloe already had music blaring from her phone and had dug out an old apron of her mom's, and was well in the zone. Beca just watched adoringly for a few minutes before she strode across the kitchen and kissed her hard.

"You," she said against her mouth, "are…" She kissed her again.

"What?" Chloe asked.

"A massive dork," she finished with a peck. Chloe had a mildly scandalized look on her face.

"Just for that," Chloe said, "You can peel the potatoes." Beca stuck out her tongue but dutifully picked up the peeler. They made dinner together, and were just waiting on the lamb when Tess came back down the stairs.

"Bec?" she asked. "Uh, where's the stuff the hospital gave me? My leg hurts." Beca found her bag and pulled out some painkillers.

"Supposed to take these with food," Beca said. "Can you hang out ten minutes or do you want me to get you something now?"

"I'll make ten minutes," her mom said, "And whatever it is that you two have cooked up in there smells amazing." The girls finished up cooking and they sat down to eat together. Her mom seemed much better after some food and medication, and they sat around talking for a long time.

The next couple of days were pretty similar. They'd all get up in the morning and eat breakfast, do a few things around the house and eat lunch. Then Tess would retire to her room to rest or nap, and Beca and Chloe would spend the afternoon wandering Portland. Beca made sure they covered all the important places like the diner, the place she bought her first cd and her first mixing equipment. After a few hours they'd make their way home, ready to start cooking dinner.

The day before they were due to fly home, Beca and Chloe made sure they did a big enough shopping trip that her mom wouldn't have to go out for a while, and did a thorough clean of the house, which her mother had insisted was not necessary.

"Please, Tess," Chloe said, "It'll stop us worrying about you." She'd relented in the end, but decided that she wanted to take them out for dinner later that night instead of having them. Chloe accepted on their behalf. Beca had ducked next door to speak to Sue, finding the woman in her kitchen.

"Hey Beca," she said. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, Chlo and I have to fly back tomorrow," she said. "I was hoping you could keep an eye on mom. We've set her up so she should be okay, but you know I worry about her all alone out here, especially now."

"Of course I will," Sue said. "And it was nice to see you. College seems to be agreeing with you."

"I know, weird right?" Beca said. "How's Grady?"

"Good," Sue said. "He's much happier already. God knows what it must have been like for him carrying that around."

"I know, that's why I told him to tell you guys," Beca said. "Tell him if he wants to talk he can call me or email me."

"Thank you, Beca," she said.

"No problems," Beca said. "Well, we fly out kind of early so I probably won't see you tomorrow."

"Take care of yourself," Sue said. "And that lovely girlfriend of yours. She's very sweet."

"She's the sweetest," Beca said. "See you, Mrs G." She gave the woman a brief hug and then returned to her own house, where she could hear the shower going. Her mother was in her room, she could hear soft music playing and assumed she was having a rest, so she knew it was Chloe. She snuck into the bathroom and stripped off quickly, then slid the curtain open and got in behind her.

"Oh," Chloe said, feeling hands slide across her skin. "Hey."

"Hey," Beca said. She let her hands brush along Chloe's abdomen and kissed her shoulder. Her fingernails raked along Chloe's skin.

"Becs, your mom," she managed, though she wasn't putting up much of a fight.

"I know," Beca said. She turned her around and kissed her. "At least let me kiss you for a while." Chloe was happy to oblige on that point, and let herself get lost in the embrace. But eventually she pulled back a little, before she got too carried away.

"You are in so much trouble when I get you home," Chloe said. "And I'm sorry, Beca, I just feel weird doing it in the shower when your mom's down the hall."

"Don't worry, me too," Beca said. "But how could I not take advantage of this situation? You're really kinda hot."

"You're really kinda hot, too," Chloe said. "I'm about done here, what about you?"

"I actually need to wash my hair," Beca said. They edged past one another and Chloe dodged the spray to give Beca one last kiss before she grabbed her towel and got out. Beca reached for the shampoo and quietly began singing Titanium. Chloe laughed.

"I know what you're doing there," she said. "Very cute."

"Can you blame a girl for trying?" Beca said. "Is my mom taking a nap?"

"Yeah, she's taking us out for an early dinner tonight," Chloe said. "Anything you want to do this afternoon?"

"Nothing springs to mind. Diner?" Beca said.

"Sure. But let's get takeout and we'll eat in the park," Chloe said. "The sun is gorgeous and it doesn't make you feel like you're being roasted alive."

"Good call," Beca said. "I won't be long." Chloe left Beca in the bathroom and she washed up as quickly as possible, then changed and met Chloe downstairs. They decided to forgo the car and walk down to the diner. Chloe's hand found Beca's as they walked, tangling their fingers together as they joked and laughed. Beca had left her hair out to dry and Chloe thought it was gorgeous, so she told Beca as much.

"You're hair is so beautiful when you leave it natural and out," Chloe said. Beca blushed. "No, seriously. I mean, I love it any way you wear it, but it looks good right now. And it smells good."

"Creeper," Beca said. Chloe pulled her in and took an exaggerated whiff, and the smaller girl shoved her as best she could, considering that Chloe had her hands. The redhead pulled her in and steadied her.

"I love you," she said, wrinkling her nose slightly. "Like, a lot."

"Yeah," Beca said. "I love you, too." She raised onto her toes slightly so she could kiss her, before taking her hand again.

They wasted the afternoon in the park, laying under a tree, listening to music from Beca's phone, talking and sharing kisses. Beca wondered for a moment what it would have been like if her and Chloe had been doing this since they first met. If she had never been with Jesse or even further before that, there could have been countless days where they'd been able to lay around together like this. She decided not to dwell on it, though, because she was doing it now.

They headed home to go out to dinner with her mom. Beca and Chloe loaded Tess's wheelchair into the back of the car and headed to the restaurant. Tess hadn't wanted anything fancy, she just wanted to take the two girls out to a proper meal before they left. She was kind of ecstatic to see her little girl so happy. So in love. Chloe was perfect for her, she thought. And as the redhead excused herself to go to the restroom after their meals, she made sure to tell her.

"Just so you know," she said, "I love Chloe. She makes you really happy, Beca. And that makes me happy. Just make sure you two find time for each other once you go back to class and everything gets busy."

"I will, mom," Beca said. "I love her. And I'm not going to let school drive us apart. But don't worry, Chlo will kick my ass if I let my grades slip."

"Good," she said. "And I know it was all dramatic and stuff, but it was good to see you. Looks like Barden isn't so bad for you."

"It's not as bad as I thought," she said. "I mean, Sheila still isn't exactly a fan, but dad and I are doing okay I think. It's weird, but we're getting there." Chloe returned to the table.

"You'll be fine," Tess said. "And don't let Sheila make you feel like you're anything less than what you are, Beca."

"Good advice," Chloe said. They ordered dessert but were still home relatively early, since the girls were taking a six am flight. Tess was adamant that she'd get up to see them off, even after Beca insisted it wasn't necessary. But Tess won out - apparently the stubbornness was genetic - and she bade the girls goodnight and headed to bed. Beca and Chloe quickly checked to make sure they had remembered absolutely everything, and then got into bed as well.

"Hey Bec," Chloe whispered into the crook of the brunette's neck.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Thanks for bringing me here," she said. "It was really awesome to meet your mom and get to see where you grew up. And I can see why you're so protective of her. She's really cool. And there's no way I'd look at you two and think anything bad about you or her. It's been nice to see you two together."

"Thanks for coming," Beca responded. "I know you haven't been at your job long and all, so it means a lot that you would rearrange your schedule and stuff just to be with me."

"There's not a lot I wouldn't do to be with you," Chloe said. Beca turned her head and looked into her girlfriend's blue eyes. "I hope you know that."

"I do," Beca said, barely above a whisper. "Chlo- can I tell you something?"

"Of course," she said.

"I know we've only been together a couple of months," she said. "Which isn't long, but… I want you to know how much you mean to me. You're everything, Chloe. Like, I don't know how I'm going to be able to sleep in a dorm with Stace every night because I'm so used to having your arms around me. You're the thing that makes me happiest, makes me feel the safest and more… hopeful about my life than I think I've ever been. And it's not even anything special, it's just that thing you do. You look at me and it's all okay. I love you." Chloe's eyes glassed over and she pressed a soft but passionate kiss to her lips.

"That was really beautiful," Chloe said with a watery smile. "And you're right, it hasn't been long, but the way you feel about this? It's how I feel too, I swear. I love you more than anything, Beca." The brunette smiled and brushed a kiss over her temple as she pulled her in, the two of them snuggling in to one another as they fell asleep.

Tess did in fact wake to see them off, giving them both hugs and making them promise to call or text often. They were both too out of sorts due to the early morning to do anything other than slump against the backseat of the cab during the ride to the airport. Beca paid the fare and they lugged their bags out, Chloe aiming directly for a Starbucks straight away. They drank coffee and gained their humanity as they approached check in and went to wait at their gate.

The flight back was as uneventful as the first had been. They used the time to discuss the upcoming ICCA season, and Beca told Chloe she'd been entertaining the idea of appointing a co-captain. She knew she had the music stuff on lock, but she wasn't the most organized person in the world, she could admit. Beca hadn't bothered getting Stacie to come pick them up, she'd told the other girl she'd call later, after they got back to Chloe's and she needed her car so she could drive back home after that.

"Back to real life," Chloe said, as she unlocked her door. She sighed and left her bag by the door. Beca lugged hers in, too, and dropped it safely next to the couch.

"Yep," Beca said. "Can't believe school is only two weeks away."

"Yeah, you're going to have signup and stuff soon," Chloe said. She opened the fridge. "Hungry?"

"A little, yeah," Beca said.

"Well, this fridge isn't going to help at all," she said. "I'm going to need to go shopping this afternoon."

"Want me to come?"

"No, it's okay," she said. "You should get home and see your dad."

"Can it wait a little bit?" Beca asked.

"For what?" Chloe asked. She closed the fridge and Beca pushed her into it.

"Well, I just spent a week sleeping next to you and not being able to tear your clothes off," she said. She kissed Chloe heatedly. The redhead whimpered in submission and began responding.

After relieving the weeks worth of tension, they enjoyed a long shower together and Beca called Stacie to bring her car up so she could finally go home and see her dad. Chloe was putting together a shopping list, and Beca was watching her with great interest.

"What are you doing?" Chloe asked. "I can feel you staring."

"Just watching you," Beca said. "You're hot." Chloe turned around and rolled her eyes. Beca just shrugged. The buzzer sounded, so Beca let Stacie in.

"Hey," the taller girl said. "How was Portland?"

"Great," Chloe said. "Gorgeous."

"And your mom?" she directed to Beca.

"Pretty good considering," Beca said. "Her and Chlo get on like old friends, though I'm only just now wondering if I should be mildly concerned by that."

"I'm ready when you are," Stacie said. Beca gave Chloe a last kiss and toted her bag back downstairs. Stacie helped her wrangle it into the trunk and got back into the drivers' seat.

"So, everything was okay back home?" Stacie said.

"Yeah," Beca said. "It was nice, I guess. What about you? Been in contact with Aubrey much?" Beca was shocked to see a blush on Stacie's cheeks.

"Um, yeah," she said. "We talk pretty much daily now. It's going pretty well. I'm going to try get down there at least once before school goes back. Speaking of which, Barden confirmed our room assignment."

"Awesome," Beca said. "Oh, I had something to ask you."

"What?"

"So when we get back into school and stuff, there's going to be new Bellas and new songlists and dancing and a whole bunch of stuff and I'm probably not going to be able to handle that on my own. So I was wondering if maybe you'd consider being my co-captain?" Stacie shot her a look.

"I appreciate the offer, but no," Stacie said. "Seriously. I mean, I get that we're pretty tight now and I love that your first thought was me, but I'm not the best candidate you have. I'm happy to help with costuming and choreo, but your co-captain needs to be someone who has the music shit seriously on lock, who can make a decision. Like CR. She'd be a great co-captain." Beca mulled that over.

"You know what, you're probably right," Beca said. They pulled up at Stacie's aunts house, where she'd lived during the summer. "Good call. We on for lunch Tuesday?"

"Of course," Stacie said. "Thanks for letting me drive your car."

"Thanks for driving us to the airport and coming to pick me up," Beca said.

"And I'm glad your mom's okay," she said.

"Me too," Beca said. "See you Tuesday." Stacie gave a wave and headed inside, and Beca headed home.


	28. Chapter 28

Beca had asked Stacie if she minded inviting Cynthia Rose to their weekly lunch date so that she could discuss the upcoming Bellas season with her. Stacie didn't mind at all, so their duo became a trio.

"So," Beca said, "CR, I asked you here for a reason."

"Yeah?" she said. "What's that?"

"Well, school's about to start back up," Beca said, "Which means we have a whole season of Bellas coming up as well. And I'm going to need some help, to be honest. There's no way I'm going to be able to do it on my own, especially now that I've got the station and The Garage on weekends. So I want you to think about maybe being my co-captain."

"For real?" CR said. "I don't have to think about that, B, I'm in. Hell yeah. And it means a lot to me that you'd ask."

"Stacie has already offered to help with choreography and costuming," Beca said. "Which is good because neither of those are my strong suit. But yeah. I really am going to need some help."

"You can count on me," Cynthia Rose promised.

"Awesome," Beca said. "We should try and get together for a day so we can plan some stuff out." They were all distracted momentarily by the food arriving, spending a few minutes eating before they drifted back to the upcoming Bellas season.

"How many girls you think we're going to need?" Cynthia Rose asked.

"I figure minimum of two," Beca said. "To replace Chloe and Aubrey. But I also don't want the group to be more than like… fifteen? I feel like it'd be way too hard for me to arrange for."

"Uh, did Denise not tell you she's not coming back?" Cynthia Rose asked awkwardly.

"What?" Beca said. "No."

"Her family is having a rough time," Cynthia Rose said. "And she's staying in Tennessee with her folks. Not coming back to Barden."

"Oh man, when did this all happen?" Beca asked.

"About two weeks ago," the other girl replied. "She was pretty homesick here anyway."

"That sucks," Beca said.

"Yeah," Stacie agreed. "And weren't you two like, a thing?"

"A long time ago. Not recently," she said. "We were for a while, but we were just friends."

"Okay, then we need a minimum of three," Beca said. "But still fifteen max, unless something incredible happens."

"I don't even know how the tryout thing works," Cynthia Rose said.

"Well, they sign up to indicate they intend on trying out, fill in the application, bring it to auditions, sing, then you have a week to decide and get back to them," Stacie said. Both girls looked at her and she shrugged. "Aubrey told me."

"Oh did she now?" Beca said teasingly.

"You talk to Aubrey a lot?" Cynthia Rose asked innocently. Stacie fiddled with her napkin a little bit.

"Uh, we might be seeing each other, sort of," she explained.

"What?" Cynthia Rose asked.

"We're not exactly sure on the details," Stacie said. "But we made out after Beca's party and then the next day again. So we talked about it for a bit and there's distance and stuff but we're going to see what happens. I'm going to Florida this weekend to see her."

"Oh cool," Cynthia Rose said. "As long as y'all are both happy, that's all that matters." She and Beca made a plan to meet up on Sunday to talk Bellas, and the three of them dissolved into chatter about their upcoming sophomore year.

After lunch Beca returned home. She had a lot of work to catch up on. She'd called Luke and Walt the day after she'd gotten back from Portland, asking to get back to work as soon as possible. She opened her laptop and set up her other gear, deciding on some coffee before she settled in. As she got into the kitchen, she saw her dad looking intently for something.

"What did you lose?" she asked.

"A schedule for office hours with my senior students," he said. "Single piece of paper. Last time I remember having it, I had a cup of coffee in my hand."

"Want help looking for it?" she asked. He shook his head.

"It'll turn up, or I'll just re-do it," he said. He reached up to check on top of the fridge, coming down with a handful of items. "See, here it is." He flicked through the rest of them, a confused look coming over his face.

"What's up?"

"All your mail and messages were on top of the fridge," he said. He handed her a stack of envelopes, the top one bearing a post it that read ' _Denise called re: Bellas'_ and a date from two weeks ago. Beca sighed in frustration.

"Sheila," she said simply, holding the post it up.

"Beca, you don't know that-"

"But I do," she said. "How is it that all of my mail is on top of the fridge where I can't even reach, but yours and hers is in the mail tray in the hall? And this phone call was actually important, Dad. Denise isn't coming back to Barden because her family are having a hard time. It would have been nice to talk to her and make sure she's okay and doesn't need anything."

"She's not out to get you," he said.

"Really?" Beca said, flicking through the mail. "Look, dad, we're getting along just fine. But she ignores me, doesn't pass on my messages to you, hides my mail… Including important mail from Barden and from the ICCA board." She held them up. Her dad's face fell.

"I'll talk to her," he said. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," she said. "In a week and a half I'll be back on campus." Her dad left to go and find Sheila. She made her coffee and went back up to her bedroom. She was just about to start opening the rest of her mail when her phone started ringing, Chloe's ringtone. She picked it up, smile replacing her scowl.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi, you," Chloe's voice came. "Hope you don't mind a no reason call from your girlfriend."

"Never," Beca said. "How's work?"

"Busy," Chloe said. "One of the trials we're running in the lab here is actually showing some promise and there's talk about trying to take it to clinical stage."

"That sounds pretty cool," Beca said.

"How was lunch? Did you talk to CR?"

"Sure did," Beca said. She filled Chloe in, explaining that they'd be meeting up later in the week and that Denise wouldn't be back, which led her to vent about Sheila.

"She stashed your messages and mail?" Chloe asked. "You sure it didn't just get up there by accident?"

"Chlo, it's the entire summer's worth of mail tossed on top of our seven foot fridge," Beca said. "It's not even just one or two pieces."

"That sounds like she's being really stupid," Chloe said. "Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Beca said. "Dad's going to talk to her. Some of that stuff was important."

"I'm sorry," Chloe said. "At least soon enough you'll be back in the amazingly luxurious and comfortable Barden dorms." Beca laughed.

"Yeah, but at least I'll be hanging out with Stacie," she said.

"Speaking of which," Chloe said, "Aubrey texted me about half hour ago and they've organized for Stacie to go down Friday and come back Sunday."

"She seems really into the whole thing," Beca said. "She told me they talk every day."

"They do," Chloe said. "Aubrey's nervous. But looking forward to it."

"Stace, too," Beca said. "I've got a ton of work to do, but can I call you later?"

"Of course," Chloe said. "Love you."

"Love you, too," Beca said, hanging up the phone. She opened all of her mail, stewing as she realized that whatever little game Sheila was playing had involved her school, the Bellas and then she became blatantly angry as she learned she'd also been offered an internship all the way back at the start of the summer. She decided that things couldn't continue, and went to find her.

She found her in the den, speaking with her father. "We need to talk," she said simply.

"Beca," her father said. "Can it wait?"

"No," Beca said. "I don't get it, Sheila. What did I ever do to you for you to treat me like this?"

"Beca-"

"No, dad," she said. She held up a handful of letters. "She might think it's funny to mess with my mail, because hey, I'm nineteen, what important mail could I be getting, right? So let's take a look. This one here confirms that my application for a major in marketing has been accepted and has a list of textbooks I should try and get my hands on. These two are both asking me to register the Bellas intent to defend their national title this year - and the response now has to be filed in just two days, which means I'm going to have to fill it in, like, right now and drive back into town so I can send it express otherwise we forfeit our right to defend. Then there's this one, my personal favorite, dated all the way back to the start of the summer."

"What's that?" her father asked, almost afraid. At least Sheila was having the decency to look properly ashamed.

"I received an offer to undertake an internship at a record label," Beca said, tossing it onto the coffee table. "An offer I never saw, therefore never responded to. You messed with my career, Sheila. So I need you to tell me what the hell the problem is, because I don't know, but I'm sure as hell not going to continue like this."

"Sheila, I think you need to answer her questions," her father said evenly. "I don't see what Beca might have done to provoke this kind of treatment. She's helped around the house, done the groceries, gotten a job."

"You do realize that you never even asked me if she could stay here?" Sheila said to her father. Beca rolled her eyes.

"Why would I ask?" he said. "This is my house and she is my daughter."

"That means I get no say?" she said.

"So hiding my mail and being a hostile jerk is the adult way to deal with that?" Beca asked.

"Sheila, surely you see how ridiculous you're being," her father said.

"Me, ridiculous?" Sheila said. "She comes in with the tattoos, piercings. Just look at the way she dresses. I wouldn't be able to invite any of my friends here while she was home, especially if she was with that girlfriend of hers."

"Hey, whoa," Beca said. "You've never even met Chloe. So don't speak about her at all."

"I agree," her father said. "Chloe's a lovely girl, smart, hardworking."

"Yeah, sure," Sheila said. Beca just stared at the older woman, getting no response.

"Fair enough," Beca said. "Give me a couple of hours to load up and I'll be out of your hair, Sheila."

"Beca, wait, you don't have to leave," her dad said. "That's not what I want."

"Yeah, only you're not the problem," Beca said. "I could stay, but who's to say that it just ends with mail and phone messages? I'll get my crap and stay with Chloe til school goes back."

"No," her father said. "Beca."

"No, dad," she said. "I'm not bailing on you. But clearly there are things you two need to talk about, okay? And it's a week and a half, so I'll be fine. But I've got a ton of work to do right now, so let me grab a few things and I'll come back for the rest of my stuff tomorrow." Her dad looked upset, so she made sure to go and kiss him on the cheek. She went and grabbed all her sound gear, some clothes and her other essentials and packed up her car. She could hear her dad and Sheila having a heated argument.

She couldn't believe Sheila's pettiness. She drove back toward town, stopping at the post office to hurriedly fill in the Bellas paperwork and make sure it was going to get to it's destination on time. Then she drove back to Chloe's, letting herself in. It wasn't til she'd finished bringing her stuff in that she even figured she should ask Chloe if she could stay. She fired off a text asking Chloe to call her ASAP, and her phone rang almost immediately.

"Why hello," Chloe said. "I'm just about to leave work."

"Um, do you mind if I stay with you for a few days?" Beca asked.

"Of course not," Chloe said. "What's happened?"

"So I was reading my mail and one of the letters I got was for an internship," Beca said. "That I didn't reply to, so it went to someone else. I was pissed."

"You're kidding," Chloe said.

"Nope," Beca replied. "So I went to see what her problem was, and her and dad were talking. Turns out that her big problem is that I exist in the house without her permission. Remember how I told you she disagreed with me on principle?"

"Yeah."

"She nailed every single one of those things I said. The tattoos, the piercings, the way I dress, she even mentioned you."

"Excuse me?!" Chloe said. "I've never even met the woman."

"That's what I said," Beca said. "But her big concern is that she can't bring anyone to the house while I'm home, so I kind of told her it wouldn't be a problem and that I'd leave."

"Well, obviously, you can stay with me as long as you need," Chloe said.

"That's handy, because I'm already at your place," Beca sighed.

"What did your dad say?" Chloe asked.

"He wanted me to stay," Beca said. "And I don't blame him, but clearly him and Sheila have some shit to sort out and it'll be easier if I'm not there to make it harder. I told him it had nothing to do with him and I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Well make yourself at home," Chloe said. "I'll pick up dinner."

"You sure? I don't mind taking care of dinner," Beca said.

"Nah, I was planning on stopping anyway," Chloe said. "See you soon."

Beca set up her mixing equipment in the spare bedroom and tried to work on a mix until she heard the front door unlock. She met her girlfriend in the kitchen, where Chloe immediately put the food down and pulled Beca into a hug. Beca fell against her.

"You alright?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah," Beca said. "Uh, I mean I don't know. It pisses me off a little, and I just don't get it. I don't understand. I mean, she's all religious and high and mighty and stuff. But am I really that bad? That she can't even be in the house with me without sabotaging me?"

"No," Chloe said firmly. "No, Beca. Come on, let's sit and eat." Beca joined her on the couch and they ate dumplings and rice. Chloe could tell that Beca was still upset, she was quieter than normal and looked incredibly despondent. After they were done, Beca offered to tidy up while Chloe showered. When she was done, she found Beca sitting in front of her computer, not getting any work done at all. She was just staring at the screen.

"Dad's been texting me," she said. "I don't even know what to say."

"You're not okay, are you?" Chloe asked, parking on the edge of the desk.

"I don't think I realized how upset I was at first," Beca said. "But no, I'm not okay with this at all. She's a grown woman. He's my dad, and I have every right to be in that house if he says I do." She dropped her head into her hands.

"Why don't you take a hot shower," Chloe said. "I'll call your dad. I won't tell him anything, just explain that you're not up to talking right now." Beca leaned up and kissed her.

"Thanks," she said softly. She went into the bathroom as Chloe picked up her phone to call her dad. By the time she got out, Chloe had already finished her call and was waiting for her in the bedroom.

"I know it's super early. But I thought we might just call it an early night," she said. "Your dad just wanted to make sure you were okay and tell you that you're still his priority and he loves you, and when you're feeling up to it to give him a call."

"I'll call him tomorrow," she said. "Promise. I'm still not sure how I feel just yet." She climbed into bed with Chloe, curling into her girlfriend's body. Chloe wrapped herself around Beca, tightening in a comforting manner.

"It's okay," Chloe said. "I love you, Beca. Whatever Sheila's problem is, it's her problem. You're amazing and incredible and any parent worth a damn would be proud of you." Beca's fingers interlocked with Chloe's.

"Thanks for letting me stay with you," she said.

"Hey, I'm never going to turn you away," Chloe said. Beca turned over.

"I love you Chlo." She kissed her softly and let her eyes close.


	29. Chapter 29

Beca did end up speaking to her father. She called him the next morning. He was very apologetic and sincere in wanting Beca to come home but when she enquired as to whether Sheila had pulled her head out of her ass, it became a different story.

"I honestly had no idea she felt so strongly," her father said. "It presents a real problem for me Beca. Because yes I married her, but you're my daughter and if she thinks I'm just not going to have you in my life then there's an issue there."

"I know dad," Beca said. "And I don't think you're bailing on me, but you guys need to sort that out and it'll be easier without me there. I just can't believe it, I've never done a damn thing to her."

"I know Beca. I feel horrible that you missed out on an internship opportunity because of this."

"But thanks for sticking up for me dad. And Chloe, by the way. Because that was super uncalled for. Because yeah, I'm a sarcastic little tattooed and pierced DJ, which doesn't float everyone's boat. But Chloe? Everyone loves Chloe," she said.

"Yeah, she's a nice girl," her dad agreed. "I do still want to have dinner with you two, but you know, maybe we'll go out?"

"Sure," Beca said. "Monday or Tuesday next week?"

"I'll make a booking," he said. "Are you coming to the house today?"

"I need to pick up some stuff," Beca said.

"Sheila won't be home after lunch," he said. "In case you want to avoid her, which I completely understand."

"I'll come later then," Beca said. "Maybe we can have a cup of coffee or something before I go into the station."

"Okay that sounds nice," he said, sounding relieved. "I love you, Beca."

"I love you too, dad. And we'll figure this out." She felt better after she hung up. She spent the morning working on mixes, her improved mood also improving her work. It wasn't long before she figured it would be time to head to her dad's and collect some of her stuff.

When she arrived her dad hugged her. He asked if she still had time for coffee.

"Sure, if you want to get it started while I get some stuff and bring it down to the car," she said. She went upstairs and quickly packed more clothes into a bag, adding a few other bits and pieces like makeup and a few notebooks she'd been working in, then stowed the lot in her car. Her dad handed her a cup of coffee.

"Chloe's okay with you staying there?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course," Beca said.

"I talked to Sheila some more," he said. "She's being very closed minded, I'm afraid."

"Well fortunately for me, I'm not particularly concerned with her opinion of me," Beca said. "But let's not talk about that."

"Good idea," her dad said. "So do you think the Bellas are going to defend their championship this year?" They spent a little time talking about the Bellas, auditions and arrangements and things, before Beca decided she'd better head to campus.

"I'm glad you stopped by," her dad said.

"Yeah, me too," Beca said. "I'll call you later." She headed into the station and settled in for the night. Chloe texted her a few times, checking on her and making sure she was okay. Beca smiled every time Chloe's name appeared on her phone. Because of course the redhead had stolen her cell and changed her name so that it was surrounded with heart and kissy face emojis. And both her background and lock screen were pictures of Chloe, again, not something she minded at all.

She was a massive dork, but she was her massive dork and that was all that mattered.

The rest of the week was fairly normal. She'd get up and speak to her dad - she could tell he was feeling guilty but she assured him it wasn't his fault - mix a little and go to work. On Friday she offered to drive Stacie to the airport. The taller girl was uncharacteristically quiet during the ride.

"You okay?" Beca asked. "You're quiet."

"Yeah, just a little nervous, believe it or not," she replied. "It's been a while since I actually dated someone."

"Well," Beca said, "I know it's been a while for Aubrey as well, so make sure you talk to her about it. It'll make it less weird."

"True," Stacie said.

"What do you guys have planned?"

"Nothing super dramatic. Dinner tonight, beach tomorrow, club," Stacie said. "I'm just glad we managed to get our schedules lined up before school went back."

"Yeah, that is good. I just can't wait to move back into the dorms," Beca said.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Stacie said. "Looking forward to the dorm?"

"Just Sheila trying to literally ruin my life," Beca said. She quickly filled in the details for Stacie. "So now I'm crashing with Chloe until school goes back because if I don't I'm going to murder Sheila."

"That's fucked up," Stacie said.

"I know," Beca said. "And dad feels bad but it's not his fault."

"Lucky your girlfriend doesn't mind you moving in," Stacie said. "Though I would have totally said you could stay with me."

"Thanks man." They got the airport and Beca told her to have fun and text her when she got to Aubrey's. Then she headed into the station.

Chloe stopped by for her Friday night dinner date, which put Beca in a better mood. She was trying not to let the whole debacle with Sheila affect her but it was. The redhead left her with a tender kiss and she was alone again in the booth.

The next afternoon she got to The Garage earlier than normal to discuss her position now that school was starting up. Walt wanted her to stay on the roster and offered her whatever weekend nights she wanted to work, as long as she could give him a term's worth of dates as soon as she could. She was incredibly grateful, and promised that as soon as she had her class schedule she'd let him know.

Her weekend was as relaxing as she could have hoped for the last one before school was due back. She worked the club and spent days relaxing with Chloe around the apartment. Before she knew it, it was Sunday afternoon and she was picking up Stacie from the airport. Chloe tagged along for the drive, window wound down and making her hair fly everywhere, but Beca thought windswept Chloe was gorgeous.

Stacie looked incredibly happy as she slid into the car and immediately began telling Beca and Chloe about the amazing weekend they'd just had. Beca was happy for Stacie and Aubrey. It sounded like they'd really connected over the weekend and had moved from a "we'll see" to being together.

They stopped off for something to eat, and talk turned to the next week, when they'd be able to move in to their dorm. Beca said she'd been doing a little shopping but suggested that maybe after their Tuesday lunch date they could go out and get a few things to save them doubling up. Stacie was all for it, she wanted to cram a mini fridge in, and Beca agreed it would be a good idea.

They dropped Stacie at her aunt's and headed back to the apartment. Chloe flicked a movie on, not minding in the slightest when Beca pulled her laptop out to work on a mix. When Beca snapped the laptop closed later - out of frustration with the mix, Chloe could tell by her expression - she simply turned the TV off and led her into the bedroom.

As they were wound tightly together and drifting off toward sleep, Chloe mumbled into Beca's hair. "I know it's just temporary and stuff but I really love having you here with me, especially at night time."

"Me too," Beca said.

Monday morning Beca got up and made breakfast for Chloe before she went off to work. She was just loading up the dishwasher when she got a text from her father, saying Sheila wasn't home and could she visit if she was free. She texted back that she'd be there shortly. Quickly showering and dressing, she got back into her car and headed home. The house was quiet as she entered and she found her dad in the kitchen. He looked tired and worried and upset all at once.

"Hey dad," she said, taking a seat. "You okay?" He smiled ruefully.

"Coffee?" he said. She nodded, and he continued talking as he made it. "Sheila spent half the day with her pastor yesterday and basically came home and said that on his advice, she couldn't have you stay in her house and that was final."

"And what did you say?"

"That it was my house before she moved in here, it's not hers and never has been and if she decided you weren't welcome then I didn't want her here," he said simply. Beca's jaw dropped.

"Dad-" she said worriedly.

"She packed a bag last night," he confirmed. "She'll come back for more tomorrow."

"Dad, this was not what I wanted to happen," Beca said. "God, I had no idea it would end up like this."

"I know you didn't want this, sweetie," he said. "But I guess it's for the best. Because I can't see a long term future with a woman who won't abide my daughter."

"So she left you all because she can't handle me being... what? Tattooed? In a relationship with a girl? Did she skip all the bits of the bible where Jesus hung out with the people society rejected?" she asked.

"I mentioned that," he said. "But her mind was made up." Beca got up and went around the counter to hug him.

"You gonna be okay?" she asked.

"Give it some time," he said. She held on for quite a while.

"I'm sorry," she said, as she pulled back.

"Me too," he said. "But she's been my partner for only five years. You've been my daughter for nineteen."

"But also, thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," he said. "You're my daughter. You'll always be welcome wherever I am. We had enough years with a strained relationship, I wasn't going to go there again."

"How about once we get our schedules," Beca suggested, "we sit down and try and figure out a way to spend some time together? Like maybe lunch on campus or Chloe and I could come for dinner."

"That would be great," he said.

"You sure there's no chance of you guys reconciling?" Beca asked.

"I really doubt it," he said.

"She can't like, take your house away or something can she?"

"No," he said. "I own this house. I bought it before we even got together. My name is on the title, the insurance is in my name. I'm happy for her to take the furniture she's bought since she moved in but everything that was here before that is mine."

"Just don't ask me to help redecorate," Beca said. "I don't get it. Chloe will help you though."

"Oh god that means I'm eventually going to have to start dating again," he said melodramatically.

"Aww I'm sure any lady would dig a tenured English professor," she replied, rubbing her knuckles against his hair.

"I'll have to sign up to that dating site," he said. "What's it called? Grindr?" Beca started laughing.

"Uh, dad, Grindr is a hookup app for gay dudes," she said. "You mean Tinder and yeah... Let's not jump the gun." At least her dad laughed out loud. He asked if she was ready to move back onto campus and Beca said she'd probably be fine, and that she and Stacie were going shopping the next day. They talked for a while longer, and by the time she left he looked like he was feeling a little bit better. She drove back to Chloe's, stopping off to grab a few things she'd noticed they were running low on, and decided to clean up a bit, turning her music up loud.

Chloe got home as she was vacuuming, sneaking up behind her and kissing the side of her neck. It scared her shitless but she turned in the redhead's arms and eagerly received the next few kisses.

"Well, hello, little housewife," she said in a teasing voice.

"Hello," she replied in the same tone. "How was your day, dear?"

"Pretty good," Chloe said. "But I was thinking... Let's go out for dinner."

"Sounds great," Beca said. "Do you want to take a shower first?"

"I do," Chloe said. Her arms slid around Beca's waist and pulled her in for another kiss. "But I think you should take one with me." Beca didn't need persuading. They showered together, then headed out for dinner. Beca filled her in on how things had gone with her father and Chloe promised that any time she wanted her to go and dinner with her and her father she'd be there. The night was a little warmer than the more recent few, so they walked around a little, stopping off for ice cream and enjoying being out together. They slept in shirts and underwear with the covers kicked off, legs tangled together and closely entwined.

Beca got up the next morning and Chloe had cooked breakfast this time, saying it was her turn. After she had raced off to work, Beca took a leisurely shower and spent a little time making shopping lists before she went to meet Stacie.

They'd pretty much been having their lunch dates at the one burger joint, but today she picked her up and went to the mall since they had so much shopping to take care of. They'd already received their dorm assignment and Stacie had used the university website's virtual tour to check out what the situation was in terms of space, drawing a diagram of the room. Her biggest problem was that there was a lack of bookshelf space (something Beca hadn't ever struggled with) and Beca's was that there was never enough surface space to spread out her music gear.

Beca suggested that Stacie take the top half of her bookshelf - she hadn't used it at all freshman year because she could barely reach the top shelves. In return Stacie offered her the entire conjoined desks. She said she studied on the floor anyway. It was all too easy. They spent the afternoon getting everything they needed ready to move in together. The only thing they couldn't take with them was a mini fridge - Beca had called her dad and asked if she could have it delivered there. He did one better and said not only could they deliver it there but that he'd also bring it to their dorm for them so they didn't have to worry about that. They loaded their stuff into the back of Beca's car and she dropped Stacie off, saying she'd see her on campus on Friday when they could start moving in.

Once she got back to Chloe's she called her dad to confirm that dinner was still on and then shot a text to Chloe to remind her. The redhead called her back instead of texting, bursting with exciting news about a lab trial. Beca didn't have the best grasp on science, but Chloe was rambling enthusiastically so she paid close attention, making sure that she told Chloe that it was awesome and she was proud of her.

Chloe accompanied her to dinner at the Italian place her father had picked out. It was a pretty decent restaurant, and her dad loved Chloe as much as Beca hoped he would. When Chloe ducked to the bathroom, Beca asked if he'd heard from Sheila and he simply said he had, but she was still leaving and they were both meeting with their lawyers the next day to sort out the division of the stuff they had accumulated together.

"Is there much of it you want?" she asked.

"Not really," he said. "But the house is mine. There are a few pieces of furniture she's not getting, things your granddad and his dad passed down. The lawyers are just a formality."

"Okay," she said.

"And while she's gone, I think I should say that I can see why you're so taken with Chloe," he said. "She's bright and intelligent and engaging."

"She's the best," Beca said with a smile as she spotted her walking back toward them. They each had a cup of coffee before they left. Beca promised to have lunch with her dad on Thursday and he kissed her on the cheek as he left the two girls alone.

"Your dad seems okay," Chloe said, slipping her hand into Beca's as they walked back toward the car.

"I think he's gonna be fine," Beca said. "It's not like he's undateable, when he gets around to being ready for that."

"True," Chloe said. "He's financially secure, not going grey, smart, steady job. But he's got plenty of time."

"Yeah," Beca said.

"Did you and Stacie get everything you need?" Chloe asked.

"Sure did," Beca replied. "I feel like it's going to be a good arrangement, rooming with Stace. She's pretty studious, she can be a sounding board for Bellas stuff if I can't find CR, we get on really well, and now that she's dating Aubrey I don't have to worry about the possibility of people stopping by the dorm to fall all over her."

"I spoke to Aubrey," Chloe said. "Today. She said that she had an amazing time with Stacie and she sounded really happy."

"That's cute," Beca said.

"I thought so, too," Chloe said. "Bree said she's going to try and come up for a few days in a couple of weeks." They made their way home and into the bedroom. Chloe was just changing when she eyed Beca in the mirror.

"What?" she said.

"I know you're living on campus and stuff, and that's really important," she said. "But I've really liked having you here. Any chance you're going to want to still come and stay the night every now and then?"

"Duh," Beca said. "I will. You'll get sick of me I'll be here that much. Plus, when Aubrey comes up to see Stacie, we should give them some space." Chloe nodded.

"Good idea," she said. She climbed into bed and curled up against Beca's shoulder. Beca let her fingers comb through the red locks for a while before she was too tired to continue. Then her mind drifted to the fact that the school year was about to begin. But unlike this time last year, she didn't think she minded so much.


	30. Chapter 30

All too soon, they were back on Barden's campus ready to move themselves in and take on their sophomore year. They weren't in the same residency dorm as last year, this time they had a better view out the window and were stuffed all the way down in a corner. It was a compromise - they were further from the bathrooms but they had extra windows, which they both agreed was a fair trade.

Beca and Stacie set their room up pretty quickly. Beca's dad delivered their mini fridge and complimented the two of them on their division of space - though he did say that the English professor in him was devastated that so little of Beca's bookshelf space was taken up with books.

"You don't even own any of the classics," he lamented.

"If by classics you mean Bowie and Queen," she teased, "they're right there." He did seem a little more pleased with Stacie's use of the space, noting that her book collection at least outweighed her music collection. Beca rolled her eyes but made plans to catch up with her dad the next afternoon for something to eat.

She called Chloe while Stacie went to sign up for labs, the taller Bella hoping to get in early, and made small talk about how much she missed her already. Chloe promised to come by that afternoon after she had finished work, with food for her and Stacie. Beca could tell she was still adjusting to the idea of the two of them not being together - she was too, a little - but she was more than happy to indulge her. The redhead didn't have much time to chat, but seemed glad that Beca had called.

Beca hung up and kicked off her shoes. She didn't have any labs to sign up for like Stacie, and she also didn't have tutorial signups until she got her class schedule. Her eyes drifted to the picture of her and Chloe on her bedside table. Someone had taken it at Chloe's birthday party. They weren't even facing the camera - their arms were wrapped around one another and they were looking squarely into each other's eyes with big smiles on their faces. Beca didn't even normally enjoy having her photo taken but she loved this photo.

She ended up passing the afternoon by napping and working on some mixes - these ones for Bellas, not the Garage. She had a lot of ideas, but wouldn't be able to make any more clear decisions until she knew what voices she was working with. Stacie had reappeared later in the afternoon - she managed to sweet talk her way into signing up for labs early, which she was excited about. Excited, Beca pointed out, which was an insane word to be using in reference to schoolwork. She mentioned Chloe had said she'd stop by with dinner, after which Stacie said she had just enough time for a run and a shower.

"How did I not know you ran?" Beca asked.

"Body like this takes upkeep," Stacie said. "Don't worry, I won't hassle you to come along, though for the record, you're free to join me any time."

"Thank you and for the record, I'm going to pass on that," Beca said. Stacie quickly changed and left.

It was during Stacie's post-run shower that Chloe appeared, pizza in hand and still wearing the clothes she'd been to work in.

"Babe, you could have showered first," Beca said, kissing her hello.

"Wanted to see you more," Chloe said. They settled on Beca's bed, opening the box as Stacie walked in.

"Hey Chloe," she said. "Thanks for the pizza."

"Any time," Chloe said. "How was move in day?" They got caught up in chatter for a while as they made their way through the pizza together. Beca and Chloe were still perched on the bed, Stacie spread out on the floor, stretching and bending her long limbs out. The taller girl's phone rang. She looked over at the screen and her face broke out into a smile as she leaned over to pick it up.

"Aubrey?" Beca asked. Stacie nodded and excused herself.

"I'll take it outside," she said. Chloe moved the pizza box to the floor and draped herself in Beca's lap. Beca wrapped her arms around her, leaving a few soft kisses on her lips.

"I love you, Beale," she whispered, wrinkling her nose a little.

"I love you, too," she replied. She moved to a more comfortable spot for the two of them, but took Beca's hand, tangling their fingers together. "Are you nervous about the new Bellas season?"

"God yeah," Beca said. "There's pressure, dude. We have a title to defend now."

"You'll kick ass," Chloe said. "The girls would do anything for you and you're also incredibly talented. And beautiful."

"They're gonna give me the ICCA title because I'm cute?" Beca teased.

"No," Chloe said, "Just trying to give you a little pep talk."

"I know, you dork, and I appreciate it," Beca said. Chloe smacked her with a cushion.

"Is the activities fair this weekend?" she asked.

"Sunday," Beca said. "Ashley and Jess designed a flyer. Wanna see?" Chloe nodded, so Beca pulled it from her email on her laptop.

"I had no idea they were artistic types," Chloe said. "Looks awesome."

"I know, right?" Beca said. "CR is going to a printer tomorrow to get some made up. I think she's really pumped about being my co-captain."

"If I had to pick a Bella to be captain and it wasn't you, it'd be her," Chloe agreed. "Though Amy would probably try and claim racism against Australians or something." Beca laughed, pulling Chloe toward her. They fell together on the bed and Beca swiftly rolled on top of her girlfriend.

"You're pretty," she said, running a hand through red locks.

"God I love you," Chloe said. Beca leaned down and kissed her. It was only supposed to be short, but Chloe's hand found the back of neck and she deepened the embrace. Beca let her body settle, moaning lightly into Chloe's mouth. She felt Chloe's leg slip up between hers and make the perfect amount of pressure between her legs, and she had to remind herself that she was in a dorm room that she shared with another person. Another person who was not currently in the room, but another person who was expected back inside the room in the near future regardless.

"Chlo," Beca said. "Stace will be back any minute."

"I know," she said, lowering the knee. "You just get me worked up."

"And that," she said with another lingering kiss, "Is mutual. But I'll see you Saturday night, at your place and if you like we can stay in bed all night."

"I'm holding you to that," Chloe said. Beca moved off of her body, but bent down to kiss her a little more. Stacie arrived back in the room.

"Gotta say, surprised you two aren't in a much more compromising position than that," she said. "I was expecting body to body at least."

"We can keep it in our pants, Conrad," Beca said, omitting that had she been in the room about three minutes prior she would have seen just that.

"And I appreciate that," Stacie said.

"How's Bree?" Chloe asked.

"Good," Stacie said. "She's going to come to Barden in like three weeks, if that's cool Beca."

"Hey dude, I'm more than happy to bail so you two can have some quality time," she said. "Plus, it's not like you're kicking me out to crash in a common room. I'll never bemoan sharing space with Chlo."

"Why don't you guys crash at my place as well?" Chloe asked. "In the spare room? Much more comfortable than a single bed."

"Chlo," Beca pointed out, "They're probably going to be like… making up for lost time."

"I know that," Chloe said. "But we don't just sit at home, Beca. Plus, the walls are pretty decent."

"I'll run it past Aubrey," Stacie said. "Because I'd take you up on it, but she might be absolutely horrified at the very thought of you guys hearing us during sex. She's not exactly quiet." Beca was shaking her head, trying to rid herself of the visual that had just popped into her brain.

"It's getting late," Chloe sighed. "I really should go."

"I'll walk you down to your car," Beca said.

"When will we see you next?" Stacie asked. "Are you coming to the activities fair?"

"I might pop in to visit," Chloe said. "Check up and see how my Bellas are doing." She gathered her things and Beca escorted her down to the visitor carpark. Chloe pulled her into a passionate kiss, one that Beca gladly returned.

"Text me when you get home," she said to the redhead.

"I will," Chloe promised as she got into the car. "Saturday?"

"Definitely," Beca said. Chloe left with a wave and Beca headed back upstairs.

"Amy is on campus, CR is on campus, Jess and Ashley are living off campus, the lucky bitches," Stacie was updating her. "Lily is god knows where, naturally."

"I'll mass text everyone with details for Saturday morning," Beca said. She'd already made plans with Chloe for Saturday night, and was working Friday night at the Garage. So Saturday morning she and CR were treating the girls to brunch as an official welcome back, which was brilliant for two reasons. One, it gave them the perfect opportunity to talk game plan for auditions and two, it eliminated almost all likelihood that Amy would bring alcohol.

They managed to navigate the first couple of days pretty easily on campus. Friday they managed to locate where the other girls all lived which was handy, and they were allocated their booth for the activities fair on Sunday. Beca worked Friday night at the Garage, Stacie tagging along, and they met up with the Bellas for the official welcome back brunch.

After they'd eaten, Beca did pull her captain's hat on and pointed out that they needed official things to be sorted out. She explained to them that she'd asked Cynthia Rose to be her co-captain, which was widely accepted across the board. Then they discussed the upcoming audition process.

"We need a minimum of three," Beca said. "But no more than eight, because I don't want to be arranging for more than fifteen."

"What kinds of voices?" Jessica asked.

"I'd like to find at least one solid alto if we can't get a contralto," Cynthia Rose said. "We lost Chloe's bass and we also lost Denise. The other would hopefully be a straight soprano so it's not just Jess carrying the top end."

"But it depends on what we find," Beca said. "So I'm serious when I say we all need to be on our shit at this activities fair. It's pretty much the only chance we have, because auditions are a week from today."

"Seriously?" Ashley said. "I feel like we had longer."

"We have a few selling points to our advantage this year," Cynthia Rose continued. "Number one, we have a national title." This earned a round of hooting and hollering from the girls.

"Right, quiet down," Beca said as the other patrons looked over.

"Two, that title was historic," Cynthia Rose said. "No other all-group has done what we've done. We're the first, ever. And lastly, we've got the Bella bond. Because hell yeah we're about music, but we're also family. Which is important."

"I'd argue it's most important," Beca said. "People who just want titles can fuck off. We want girls who want to be Bellas. Who want to be a part of something. Us deciding on new members is going to be a group activity. I want your input."

"Seriously?" Ashley said.

"Yeah," Beca said. "We're going to vote. Obviously if there's a serious disagreement, CR and I will handle it, but I want the group to have a say."

"Cool," Amy said. They finished off their food and separated ways. Stacie and Beca headed back to their dorm, the taller girl doing some reading before classes officially started - Beca shook her head at that thought - and Beca to get her stuff together to go hang out with Chloe.

Chloe greeted her at the door with a fierce kiss. "Hey DJ."

"Hey," Beca said.

"How'd brunch go?"

"Fine," Beca said. "We just talked game plan for tomorrow."

"Ah, the activities fair," Chloe said nostalgically. Her hands slid to Beca's waist. "First time I ever saw you. You looked pretty hot that day."

"You were wearing a blue dress," Beca remembered. "Even then, your eyes stood out."

"And you and Aubrey got into a bitch fight," Chloe said. She leaned in and captured Beca in another steamy kiss. "I believe you promised this entire sleepover would be located in the bedroom."

"I did, didn't I?" Beca said. "Can't go back on my word now." Her own hands were sliding up Chloe's skirt. Just as they were beginning to get somewhere fun, Chloe abruptly moved and tugged her into the bedroom. True to her word, apart from bathroom breaks and a brief hiatus to pay to the girl who brought their dinner, they spent the entire time in the bedroom.

The next morning, Beca left Chloe early, her girlfriend promising to stop by later. The redhead was still sporting the tee and underwear she had slept in, which made it much harder for her to actually leave, but she had duties to attend to, so begrudgingly she made her way back to campus to meet up with Stacie.

They'd actually managed to get themselves a prime location for the activities fair, thanks to their recent national title. They were manning the tent in two shifts - Beca, Stacie, Jessica and Ashley first, then Cynthia Rose, Amy, and Lily in the second. Beca remembered briefly back to a year before and how desperate Chloe and Aubrey had been to get girls to try out, and hoped they wouldn't have that kind of trouble this time around.

She shouldn't have worried. They had a crowd of people in front of their tent that pretty much stayed constant. Chloe dropped by around lunchtime with coffee and snacks for the girls, grinning when she saw how busy they were with prospective Bellas. Beca hadn't spotted her yet, so she snuck up behind her.

"Looks like you're not going to have any problems filling three to eight spots," she said quietly into Beca's ear. Beca turned and broke into a smile at the sight of her girlfriend. She thrust her stack of papers in Ashley's hand and tugged her out of the throng of bodies. Then she kissed her quickly.

"Hello," she said. "Look at you all gorgeous and stuff."

"Going well?" she asked.

"I think so," Beca said. "It's been like this all morning. The other girls should be here to take over soon."

"Oh, so the chances of stealing my girlfriend for lunch are pretty good then?" Chloe asked. Beca leaned up on tiptoes and kissed her again.

"Very good," she replied. "Soon as CR gets here."

"In the meantime I brought coffee," Chloe said, pointing to where she had set it down.

"You're the best, you know that, right?" Beca said. She broke apart when she heard a raised voice.

"I said no thank you," Stacie was saying in the direction of a guy in a polo shirt. "I don't want to meet you anywhere."

"Why not?" he said. "Way I hear it-"

"All you need to know is that I'm not available," Stacie said, cutting him off. "Off the market." Beca stepped up beside the taller girl.

"Yo, Lacoste, fuck off," Beca said. "Trying to do some business here."

"You're always available," the man's friend said. "Since when were you off the market?"

"Since I started dating a beautiful blonde law clerk," Stacie said. "She's hotter than any ten of you Greek row boys, a hundred times smarter and she'd also have no problem coming here and crushing your balls." Jessica and Ashley looked at each other and then at Chloe, who just nodded.

"So move along," Beca supplied. "Or I'll move you along." They shuffled away, not looking happy. Stacie looked upset.

"Always available?" she said to Beca. "Is that my reputation?"

"Take a break," Beca said. "Call Aubrey. She'll make you feel better, don't listen to those assholes." Stacie nodded. Meanwhile, Ashley and Jessica were waiting to hear confirmation from Chloe.

"Seriously?" Jessica said. "Stacie and Aubrey?"

"It's new," Chloe said. "But yes. Don't make a big deal out if it, okay? It's hard enough that Aubrey's in Florida."

"Okay," Ashley said. "Promise. But that's cute."

"It's seriously cute," Chloe agreed. They saw out the rest of their shift and then Beca and Chloe went off for lunch while CR took the second shift.

Cynthia Rose dropped past Beca and Stacie's dorm that evening to let them know how the afternoon had gone.

"I think it went really well," she said. "We handed out every single flyer, and heaps of applications went as well."

"I thought so too," Beca said. "There was always like a two deep line going on."

"We're gonna do it, Beca," Cynthia Rose said. "We'll find our girls, I just know it."

Beca and her co-captain thought it best to gather again right before auditions Saturday morning. There was no point holding a rehearsal until they had a full group. When they arrived at the auditorium, there were already a group of girls waiting.

"We'll let you all in, just give us a sec," Cynthia Rose said. The Bellas filed inside and grouped together in the front row.

"We ready?" Beca said to the group.

"Yes," came the response.

"Then CR and I are going to bring the girls in and put them in the wings," she said. "Soon as we find Justin and Tommy."

"Speak, young lady and we shall appear!" Tommy's voice rang out. "Justin isn't here. Because… well, we're in a unique situation."

"What's that?" Amy asked.

"We're having to hold two days of auditions," he said. "Because interest in the Bellas, thanks to your performance last year, has skyrocketed. Today we're only going to have time for Bellas. And you ladies can handle that on your own."

"What do you mean?" Beca said. "Only time for us?"

"You guys have applicants coming out of your ass," Tommy said. "There's like a million girls outside wanting to be Bellas more than anything in the world. Eighty six, to be exact."

"Right," Beca said. "Thanks." She was starting to get nervous now.

"What's the plan?" Cynthia Rose said.

"Why don't you bring the girls in, make sure they have complete applications and assign them a number," Beca said. "I'm just going to run to the bathroom quickly and then I'll get the show rolling." Cynthia Rose nodded and headed outside to bring the girls in. Beca turned to the other Bellas.

"We'll be ready in a few minutes," she said. "Just ducking to the bathroom." She strode casually out of the auditorium door, and as soon as she rounded the corner she sank to the floor and pulled her cell out of her pocket, dialing her girlfriend.

"Beca?"

"Chlo?" she said in a panicky voice. "I'm freaking out here."

"What's wrong?" Chloe asked.

"So apparently there were so many signups for acapella this year because literally every girl on campus wants to be a Bella," she said. "Today's auditions are just for Bellas. There's over eighty girls here. CR is in the wings assigning them all numbers and making sure they've all filled the paperwork in correctly and I'm panicking."

"Eighty!?" Chloe said. "Wow. But you can do this, Beca. Of course you can."

"What do I do?" she asked.

"Well that depends," Chloe said. "Do you want to hear them sing the same song?"

"I want to hear what they think they can bring me," Beca said.

"And how do you think you best do that?" There was silence as Beca thought and decided on a plan.

"I'm going to get them on stage one by one to sing thirty seconds of the audition song and thirty seconds of a song of their choice," Beca said. "I'll get CR to record them, purely because there's so many, and we'll have to watch them back later."

"See? Plan made," Chloe said. "Now get your ass in there."

"Okay," Beca said. "Thanks, Chlo. You're so good at that."

"At what?" Chloe asked.

"You know. That thing you do that makes me feel like I can do anything," Beca said.

"You can do anything," Chloe said. "I love you, Beca."

"I love you too," she said. "I'll call you later." She hung up and took a deep breath. Chloe was right. She could do this. She squared her shoulders and headed back through the auditorium doors into the wings where the crowd of hopefuls looked up.

"Alright ladies," she said, making sure the girls at the back could hear. "This is how it's going to work. You're gonna come out on stage when we call your number, and add your application to the table. It better be filled out correctly because if it's not, it goes in the discard pile. Then you're gonna tell us your name and give us thirty seconds of the audition piece we told you all about, which is Lady Gaga's Edge of Glory. After that it's going to be thirty seconds in which you get to show us what you've got. It has to be your A game, folks. There's eighty six of you here."

"We're not looking to take any more than eight of you," Cynthia Rose said, which caused a nervous murmur in the group. "That's less than ten percent. Stakes are high. So that thirty seconds has to be your best. No do-overs."

"After we're done here, the girls and I are going to do the hard part. It's gonna take us some time to cull the group down. But we'll do it as quickly as we can and send out emails hopefully by the end of the week. The decisions will be made by a majority vote from the Bellas and since there are seven of us, there will be no tiebreakers. Decisions are final," Beca said.

"Alright," Cynthia Rose said. "Chill, we'll call out when we're ready." They rejoined the other Bellas in the auditorium.

"Good to go?" Stacie asked.

"Yep," Beca said. "We can do this. Amy, if you could call the first number in?" The blonde winked and opened her mouth to yell her summons to the first applicant.


End file.
